Brown Ruled out of Wallabies World Cup Squad
Western Force flanker Richard Brown has been ruled out of contention for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the 23-capped Wallabies Test star undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury that will sideline him until next year.
Brown opted to go under the knife and in turn miss the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand this September in order to be back to full fitness in time for the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The 26-year-old forward suffered the original right shoulder dislocation in the opening round of the 2010 Super Rugby season, Brown playing on to keep his spot in the Australian Wallabies team.
“I wanted to give myself every opportunity to play at the World Cup and I tried to push through it for as long as I could, but the time has come where it’s just not an option anymore,” Brown said.
“It’s disappointing but I need to get it (the surgery) done now to make sure I’m ready for next season and get back to playing my best.
“It hasn’t been good for a while.
“I just wasn’t playing as well as I could.
“I knew when I hurt myself last year it was going to be hard to make the World Cup.
“I knew I was going to have to push through to make it, but I couldn’t push through any more. I need the operation and that’s it.
“I’m disappointed but that’s life.”
Even with his injury, Brown was a pivotal player for Western Force during the 2011 Super 15 series, the club suffering a poor 12th-place finish missing out on the finals.
He played in last year’s Tri-Nations and European Tour and was praying he could play through the pain to feature in the World Cup.
Force coach Richard Graham had nothing but praise for Brown, commenting on the effort he had put in all year trying to shake off the injury and get fit for the World Cup.
“It’s certainly unfortunate that the injury has ruled Richard out of the World Cup,” Graham said.
“He had worked extremely hard over the past 17 months, and was a strong performer for both….Western Force and the Wallabies during that time.
“However, there was always going to come a point that he would need to have it done.
“He’ll now have the required time to recover and build his fitness back to its peak ahead of next season.”
Expected recovery period for Brown’s shoulder surgery is 12 weeks, with another four weeks after that until he resumes training with the Force during the pre-season in November.
Brown is also expected to announce a re-signing with Western Force shortly.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup kicks off on September 9, the All Blacks playing Tonga at Eden Park.
