Wallabies discover fighting spirit in training punch-up

WALLABY centre Anthony Fainga’a believes a healthy competition for spots in Australia’s starting line-up at the World Cup explains why some players reportedly traded punches during the opening training session in New Zealand. An opposed practice between the first-choice players and the back-ups was apparently so brutal that training the next day was cancelled.

Fainga’a, however, said it was only natural that tensions will occasionally boil over.

“It’s training and there is 30 guys in a team and only 22 guys can put on [Test squad] jumpers, so there is always a few punches at training,”

Australia: K Beale; A Ashley-Cooper, A Fainga’a, P McCabe, D Ioane; Q Cooper, W Genia; R Samo, D Pocock, R Elsom, J Horwill (capt), D Vickerman, B Alexander, S Moore, S Kepu. Subs: T Polota-Nau, J Slipper, R Simmons, B McCalman, S Higginbotham, L Burgess, J O’Connor.

Italy: A Masi; T Benvenuti, G Canale, G Garcia, M Bergamasco; L Orquera, F Semenzato; So Parisse (capt), R Barbieri, A Zanni, C van Zyl, C del Fava, M Castrogiovanni, L Ghiraldini, A Lo Cicero. Subs: T D’Apice, L Cittadini, M Bortolami, P Derbyshire, E Gori, R Bocchino, L McLean.