Australia fullback Kellaway ruled out of All Blacks test
MELBOURNE :Australia's backline stocks have taken another hit before their pivotal Rugby Championship test against New Zealand on Saturday with fullback Andrew Kellaway ruled out of the Eden Park clash due to a calf strain.
Kellaway's blow follows fullback Tom Wright's season-ending knee injury in the 30-22 defeat by South Africa in Cape Town last month.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has already lost one of the team's most important players in back row enforcer Rob Valetini for Eden Park, where Australia are winless since 1986.
Kellaway's absence is another setback, with the 45-test back in good form in the last match against Argentina, scoring a try and setting up two others in the 28-26 defeat in Sydney.
His injury boosts winger Harry Potter's hopes of a recall, with Max Jorgensen able to shift across from the wing to play at 15.
With centre Len Ikitau available for Eden Park after recovering from a knee laceration that scratched him from the Sydney test, Joseph Suaalii could be another option at fullback.
However, Schmidt may prefer to keep Suaalii in the midfield given the young centre's form, scoring three tries in the last two tests against the Pumas.
Australia lead the Rugby Championship by a point from second-placed South Africa and third-placed New Zealand.
The Eden Park test and Rugby Championship rematch in Perth a week later double as the Bledisloe Cup, the annual series contested by the trans-Tasman neighbours.
