Wallaby star Mat Rogers will make his first Super 14 start at flyhalf this weekend when the New South Wales Waratahs face off against South Africa’s Golden Cats in Sydney, the team announced on Tuesday.
Rogers missed the opening three Super 14 rounds following the suicide of his father and former rugby league great Steve Rogers in January but put in a sparkling performance off the bench during the Waratah’s 31-16 victory over South Africa’s Coastal Sharks last week.
Rogers, a convert from Rugby League who has mostly played on the wing or as fullback, took over at flyhalf after 50 minutes in Saturday’s match and was at the heart of numerous attacks from the talented Waratahs’ backline.
”Mat showed with his first touch of the ball on Saturday that he’s ready for this challenge,” Waratahs head coach Ewen McKenzie said.
”Hes the kind of player who continually puts the defence in two minds, which will be an asset against the Cats, and anyone else for that matter,” he said.
”He’s trained hard this week and has performed well in the role for the Wallabies in the past so [we] were confident in his ability to call the shots on Friday.”
The only other change to the squad that downed the Sharks saw the return from suspension of prop Matt Dunning, who will start Friday’s match off the bench.
Benn Robinson will start at loose-head while Troy Takiari dropped out of the 22.
”Its a bonus to have Matt available however the form of Benn Robinson in his absence could not be ignored,” McKenzie said.
”That said, Matt will still play a significant role in this match.”
Friday’s match is also expected to see winger Peter Hewat become the third highest pointscorer in Waratah’s history.
Hewat is currently on 299 points, just five short of surpassing Manny Edmonds (303) to become the third highest pointscorer in NSW history. – Sapa-AFP