Lolesio's Lions hopes not over after second neck scare in eight weeks
Lolesio was cleared of any serious injury and rejoined his Wallabies teammates in the team hotel in Newcastle on Sunday evening and will be monitored by medical staff during the next three days in Brisbane before a final decision is made on his fitness for the Lions Test series.
Lolesio made a break on the hour mark on Sunday and was tackled by Fiji breakaway Elia Canakaivata, with his head hitting the turf with force, leading to the five-eighth leaving the field in a neck brace.
It has been eight weeks since Lolesio left the field for the Brumbies on a medicab, after being caught awkwardly in a ruck against the Western Force in Perth. Lolesio was similarly discharged from the hospital after scans showed no fractures to his neck.
Force playmaker Ben Donaldson replaced Lolesio against Fiji and Reds five-eighth Tom Lynagh also remains in contention to face the Lions for the Wallabies.
The Brumbies have named their squad to take on the Lions on Wednesday in Canberra, with dry conditions forecast for the capital after Lions coach Andy Farrell accused the Waratahs of watering the Allianz Stadium surface on Saturday.
The Brumbies finished as the strongest Australian Super Rugby side this year, reaching the semi-finals, before losing to the Chiefs in Hamilton.
Coach Stephen Larkham has been forced to name a weakened side with eight of his frontline players having played for the Wallabies against Fiji on Sunday.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


West Australian
23 minutes ago
- West Australian
Wimbledon: 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt makes debut to remember as father Lleyton Hewitt watches on
Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has watched from the stands as his 16-year-old son Cruz made a Wimbledon debut to remember. Following in his father's footsteps, but incredibly at a year younger than Lleyton, Hewitt took his highly anticipated first steps on the hallowed grass of The All England Club. And the 16-year-old showed he could be Australian men's tennis' next big thing, cruising past Russian Savva Rybkin, who has only been beaten eight times in his junior career. Hewitt claimed a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory in the first round of the famed junior tournament, eliciting Lleyton's trademark fist pumps from the player's box. The youngster bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, especially in a back-to-front cap, moving around the court swiftly and utilising powerful groundstrokes. Lleyton featured in the junior draw at Wimbledon in 1998 at 17 years old before going on to win two Grand Slams, one on the famed grass in 2002, less than a year after his first at the 2001 US Open. Hewitt Snr remains the last Australian man to claim a Grand Slam title and is the current coach of Australia's Davis Cup team, which he represented when they won their last title in 2003. His son will next face Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius on Tuesday.


Perth Now
28 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Like father, like son! Hewitt Cruz-es to win Wimbledon debut
Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has watched from the stands as his 16-year-old son Cruz made a Wimbledon debut to remember. Following in his father's footsteps, but incredibly at a year younger than Lleyton, Hewitt took his highly anticipated first steps on the hallowed grass of The All England Club. And the 16-year-old showed he could be Australian men's tennis' next big thing, cruising past Russian Savva Rybkin, who has only been beaten eight times in his junior career. Hewitt claimed a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory in the first round of the famed junior tournament, eliciting Lleyton's trademark fist pumps from the player's box. Cruz Hewitt of Australia celebrates a break point against Savva Rybkin. Credit: Dan Istitene / Getty Images The youngster bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, especially in a back-to-front cap, moving around the court swiftly and utilising powerful groundstrokes. Lleyton featured in the junior draw at Wimbledon in 1998 at 17 years old before going on to win two Grand Slams, one on the famed grass in 2002, less than a year after his first at the 2001 US Open. Cruz Hewitt of Australia plays a forehand against Savva Rybkin. Credit: Dan Istitene / Getty Images Hewitt Snr remains the last Australian man to claim a Grand Slam title and is the current coach of Australia's Davis Cup team, which he represented when they won their last title in 2003. His son will next face Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius on Tuesday.


Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Brumbies brothers join forces in bid to be Lion tamers
Tom Hooper will be joined by his brother Lachie when the Brumbies take on the touring Lions. (Andrew Cornaga/AAP PHOTOS) Tom Hooper will be joined by his brother Lachie when the Brumbies take on the touring Lions. (Andrew Cornaga/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP Lachie Hooper's debut game for the ACT Brumbies, against the might of the British and Irish Lions, will be his first chance to line up professionally alongside big brother Tom. But it could also be the pair's last game together in Brumbies colours. Lachie, 21, will start on the bench in Canberra on Wednesday night after being handed his debut by coach Stephen Larkham. It's Wallabies flanker Tom's final appearance before he departs for English-based team Exeter Chiefs in the off-season. Larkham hailed the talents of the younger Hooper, who he watched and helped develop over the years through the ACT rugby system. "He's amazing when he goes on the field," he said. "We really wanted them to be here together, and we really wanted them to play together, and we just didn't get the opportunity this year. "But hopefully everything goes to plan and they get on the field and they really enjoy not only the moment, but the way that we play the game." Tom, 24, returns to the starting side after playing 12 minutes in the Wallabies' ugly 21-18 victory over Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday, but several big-name Test players will be absent, including Rob Valetini and captain Allan Alaalatoa. "We've been planning for this for a while, and yeah, second row was certainly a position that we were a little bit light-on," Larkham said. Also receiving his Brumbies debut against the Lion will be prop forward Cameron Orr, who will also start from the bench. The 30-year-old was drafted from the Seattle Seawolves in the US Major League Rugby competition for the game, but has a wealth of Super Rugby experience with the Western Force and the now-defunct Melbourne Rebels. Taming the Lions will be a tough ask for Larkham's inexperienced side. The tourists posted half-centuries against the Queensland Reds and the Force, and despite a strong performance from the NSW Waratahs still prevailed 21-10 in Sydney. Looking at the scorelines, Larkham conceded it was hard to argue that the Lions had yet to face a proper challenge in Australia. "Although I thought the Waratahs were pretty good on the weekend," he said. "I thought it was a very impressive game against the Reds, the British and Irish Lions put out there. "We've learned a lot from that. We get the benefit of playing last so we get to see three of their games in Australia, they've had their Argentinian game as well, so we've sort of studied them quite closely. "We don't know who we're playing against at this stage, we don't know what their selection is. But we feel that we've had a pretty good run at our preparation compared to the other teams. "You'd like to think that the Waratahs had that little bit of extra preparation watching those other games. They came into the game with some tactics that worked pretty well, and we've learned a little bit out of the Waratahs game as well." Wednesday's game will also serve as a Brumbies farewell for Jack Debreczeni and Ben O'Donnell, who will join French side Aurillac on a two-year deal.