Rugby: Larkham injury may be blessing for McMullen

By Chris Rattue


The knee injury to Wallaby first-five eighths Stephen Larkham may have been a disaster of sorts for the Brumbies.

It has, however, fast-tracked a remarkable comeback for his replacement, the 25-year-old Craig McMullen, who will start against the Chiefs in Canberra tomorrow night.

McMullen is the son of 1960s Wallaby halfback Ken McMullen, who died of cancer when Craig was 12.

Craig McMullen has long been under the eye of the Brumbies' organisation. When he was building his Super 12 side, Rod Macqueen - now the Australian coach - tried to lure McMullen from Sydney club football but he had obligations to New South Wales.

Current Brumbies coach Eddie Jones took McMullen on a successful development tour in 1997, from which Jeremy Paul, Sam Cordingley and Stirling Mortlock were contracted.

McMullen badly injured a knee against Wellington last year and it needed reconstruction. The match should have been a rare opportunity for McMullen as the Brumbies, who had Larkham at fullback, had discarded the quirky veteran David Knox.

Because McMullen was given no chance of being fit in time to play a significant part in this year's tournament, he is still on the "casual contract" under which he played against the Crusaders last week.

McMullen has all the pedigree - he represented Australian schoolboys, under-21s, Universities, the Emerging Wallabies, Barbarians and national sevens between 1991 and 1995.

But he now faces an awesome task trying to cover for Larkham, simply because the Wallaby has such a huge impact on the style of the teams he plays for.

McMullen shared the pivot duties with inside centre Rod Kafer when Larkham twisted his knee against the Crusaders last week.

Larkham's departure was seen as a major reason for Canterbury's upset 28-21 win, and Chiefs coach Ross Cooper made no secret of his relief at not having to face Larkham tomorrow night, although he wished the Wallaby all the best.

"It is a huge loss for them and I just hope for the people around the world who love to see the great players that he makes a good recovery," said Cooper.
"But we're not sorry he won't be there on Saturday night, although [halfback] George Gregan is another fine player who is right on top of his game and a big influence for them."

But you could almost see a glint in the eye of the Chiefs loose forwards, in particular, who will know that putting the heat on McMullen could disrupt the Brumbies' game plan.

The fact is, there are few Stephen Larkhams in world rugby, and the Brumbies cannot hope to fill his shoes in an instant.