THE ALL Blacks prop Greg Somerville is joining the exodus of leading New Zealand players after signing for English club Gloucester. Somerville, 30, will link up with Gloucester on a two-year contract at the end of the All Blacks' tour of Britain and Ireland later this year.
He has been a mainstay of the New Zealand frontrow since his debut in 2000 and is the most capped All Blacks prop, playing his 59th Test in last week's 44-12 win over England. "I have achieved virtually everything possible in New Zealand rugby and to have represented the All Blacks will always be something very special to me," Somerville said.
He also racked up over 100 matches for the Canterbury Crusaders in Super rugby competitions.
"Greg's done it all in New Zealand rugby. He's done it quietly but done it really well. We'll miss him as a player, a leader and a mate," said All Blacks forwards coach Steve Hansen.
Gloucester said they were pleased to have signed someone of Somerville's calibre. "To have represented the All Blacks in more than 50 Test matches and be versatile to operate on either side of the scrum, means he is an outstanding acquisition for us at this stage of his career," coach Dean Ryan said.
A number of high-profile All Blacks players have been lured to Europe and Japan by big contracts, causing concern for the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). Others to quit following last year's failed World Cup campaign include Chris Jack, Carl Hayman, Anton Oliver, Byron Kelleher, Aaron Mauger, Doug Howlett and Jerry Collins.
Meanwhile, an injury to prop Matt Dunning has forced Australia to change their frontrow two days before the opening Test against France. Dunning was forced to withdraw from Saturday's clash at the Olympic stadium after aggravating a leg injury, leaving the Wallabies with no alternative other than to change their scrum. The tighthead prop suffered bleeding from a haematoma in his leg during this month's 18-12 win over Ireland in Melbourne.
The injury flared up again in training this week, prompting new coach Robbie Deans to replace him with Al Baxter and add the uncapped Ben Alexander to the replacements bench. Baxter is Australia's most-capped prop but it is the selection of Alexander that has created most interest.
The 23-year-old has never even started a Super 14 match and almost quit the game two years ago after developing a blood clot in his leg but Deans has fast-tracked him into the squad to help the Wallabies' scrum problems.
"He is ready to go and did his job well for Australia A last Sunday. It is a great opportunity for him," Deans said.
Dunning's late omission was the only change to the squad that scraped home against Ireland two weeks ago.
Deans, who will lead Australia for the second time since leaving New Zealand's Canterbury Crusaders, kept faith with his players but told them he wanted a better performance this week. "Melbourne was a starting point for us as a group," he said. "As such, it was important we kept the combination together as much as we could to allow them to develop further with more time operating as a unit in a match-day environment."
France recall utility forward Sebastien Chabal to bolster their pack after most of their frontline players were unavailable because of club commitments. Coach Marc Lievremont included eight uncapped players in his squad, six on the bench and two in the starting XV, winger Alexis Palisson and prop Benoit Lecouls, but remained confident his side could pull off an upset. "In my opinion, we have a very good balance with just two players starting for the first time," Lievremont said. "I think we are going to play well on Saturday and win."
AUSTRALIA V FRANCE
AUSTRALIA:Cameron Shepherd; Peter Hynes, Stirling Mortlock (capt), Berrick Barnes, Lote Tuqiri; Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Al Baxter, James Horwill, Nathan Sharpe, Rocky Elsom, George Smith, Wycliff Palu. Replacements: Adam Freier, Ben Alexander, Dean Mumm, Phil Waugh, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross, Adam Ashley-Cooper.
FRANCE:Pepito Elhorga; Alexis Palisson, Damien Traille, Francois Trinh-Duc, Sebastien Thiery; Benjamin Boyet, Dmitri Yachvili; Benoit Lecouls. Sebastien Bruno, Lionel Faure, Lionel Nallet (capt), Sebastien Chabal, Imanol Harinordoquy, Louis Picamoles, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Replacements: Benjamin Kayser, Renaud Boyoud, David Couzinet, Matthieu Lievremont, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Thibault Lacroix, David Janin.
