Tuesday Round-Up

Heaslip injury woe: Just as Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt was licking his lips at the prospects of having the entirety of his frontline XV back for consecutive matches, it has been confirmed that no.8 Jamie Heaslip will sit out the coming four weeks of action due to three fractured vertebrae sustained against France last weekend. Leinster back rower Heaslip was the victim of a cheap shot from French second rower Pascal Pape, with the former skipper of les Bleus leading with a knee into the exposed back of Heaslip at a maul. With Pape in the process of being cited and a ban almost inevitable, in the immediacy it is Ireland who have more to worry about, with the news that Heaslip will miss the forthcoming clash with old rivals, England, along with the journey to Cardiff to take on Wales at the Millennium Stadium. While Heaslip is set to be sidelined for the next month or so, it has been confirmed that once the injury has healed, it should not cause the Kildare man any further trouble going forward, with the injury being treated as a soft tissue injury rather than having done any damage to the structural integrity of the spine. Already feeling more comfortable since being helped from the field at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Heaslip is expected to make a comeback in time for the final game of the Six Nations championship against Scotland.

Timani staying on: Melbourne Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has confirmed that utility forward Lopeti Timani, has agreed terms on a contract extension which will see him remain at the club for the next two years. Timani, who scored the opening try of this year’s Super Rugby campaign dying the course of the Rebels’ impressive away win at the Crusaders, has broken into the Melbourne-based outfit’s First XV off the back of a powerful season in the National Rugby Championship and a solid pre-season effort. The younger brother of former Wallaby second row forward Italeki Timani, big things are expected of the current generation of Timani, with McGahan pointing to his physicality and work ethic as two of his major strengths. A former employee of the New South Wales Waratahs, Timani will lock horns with some of his past colleagues this Friday, when the Rebels take on the reigning Super Rugby champions at AAMI Park.

Ryan Sheady