Australia to wear indigenous jersey against Uruguay, who have gallons of 'mate' to drink
Record ID:
1435179
Australia to wear indigenous jersey against Uruguay, who have gallons of 'mate' to drink
- Title: Australia to wear indigenous jersey against Uruguay, who have gallons of 'mate' to drink
- Date: 4th October 2019
- Summary: OITA, JAPAN (OCTOBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE ABOUT TO START / BEALE AND HOOPER HOLDING INDIGENOUS JERSEY JERSEY BEING SHOWN OFF TO MEDIA NEWS CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN UTILITY BACK, KURTLEY BEALE, SAYING: "As a proud indigenous Australian, I'm very excited to be wearing the indigenous Wallabies playing strip tomorrow against Uruguay, we've got all the buy-in from the players and the staff and as a country it's true representation of and acknowledgement to the first nation's people of our country, so it's going to be a very special night for all involved." WALLABIES JERSEY CAMERAMAN REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN UTILITY BACK, KURTLEY BEALE, SAYING: "Yeah, obviously I'll be at the back with him tomorrow. I think he's such a special talent, I'm actually very proud of him, how he's bounced back from his injuries, it shows a true testament of who he really is and how committed he is, to getting back, pushing himself really hard in rehab, to get now an opportunity to play at the World Cup." VARIOUS OF AUSTRALIAN RUGBY TEAM GATHERED IN CIRCLE ON OITA STADIUM PITCH CAMERAMAN FILMING PLAYERS GREETING EACH OTHER AUSTRALIA COACH MICHAEL CHEIKA WALKING ON PITCH OUTSIDE BACK JORDAN PETAIA TRYING TO CATCH BALL UTILITY BACK KURTLEY BEALE CATCHING BALL PETAIA TRYING TO CATCH BALL CHEIKA WATCHING PETAIA AUSTRALIA TEAM CAPTAIN AND FLANKER MICHAEL HOOPER HOOPER TACKLE TRAINING WITH TEAM MATE HALFBACK NIC WHITE ROOF OF STADIUM/TEAM GATHERED RUGBY BALL OITA STADIUM EXTERIOR OF OITA STADIUM VARIOUS OF URUGUAY TEAM TRAINING ON PITCH URUGUAY PLAYER CENTRE TOMAS INCIARTE RUNNING WITH BALL VARIOUS OF PLAYERS TRAINING MEDIA URUGUAY COACH ESTEBAN MENESES WALKING ON PITCH TEAM TRAINING URUGUAY FLAG VARIOUS OF TEAM JOGGING ON PITCH URUGUAY FLYHALF FELIPE BERCHESI TRAINING NEWS CONFERENCE STARTING VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) URUGUAY PLAYER, AGUSTIN DELLA CORTE, SAYING: "I think mate is really important for us, it's like a social tradition to share a mate every time, so in the travels we have a lot of leisure time, so we like to all the time be sharing a mate. Each one of us brings their (asking how to say thermos), our thermos and mate but the yerba (the plant which is infused to make mate) it came with the team, we bring 200 kilos of yerba. (Laughing)" NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY VARIOUS OF PLAYERS PASSING BALL STADIUM LIGHTS
- Embargoed: 18th October 2019 11:11
- Keywords: Australia Wallabies Uruguay indigenous jersey mate
- Location: OITA, JAPAN
- City: OITA, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Rugby Union,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZOKA4F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:An untimely lapse in off-field discipline robbed Kurtley Beale of the chance to wear the Wallabies' indigenous jersey at Twickenham last year but the veteran fullback will don it with pride at the World Cup against Uruguay on Saturday.
Australia will wear the strip at Oita Stadium for the first time at the global showpiece and only the third time ever.
They have also sought permission to wear it in the semi-finals in Japan, should they make it that far.
Aboriginal Australian Beale, along with fellow back Adam Ashley-Cooper, was forced to miss the England test last year after the pair breached team protocols.
Media reports at the times said their omission was due to inviting friends back to Ashley-Cooper's hotel room after the 9-6 loss to Wales two weeks earlier.
It was a tough pill for Beale to swallow but the 30-year-old said he was glad to finally get his chance to show off the mainly green strip that represents the country's 700,000 indigenous Australians.
Indigenous athletes are heavily represented in rugby league and Australian Rules football but only 14 have played for the Wallabies in the team's 120-year history.
Beale is currently the only Aboriginal Australian player in the Wallabies camp.
Australia were edged by Wales 29-25 in their second Pool D clash on Sunday and are looking to bounce back against the much-improved Uruguayans to get their World Cup on firmer footing.
Another Wallaby will have his chance to shine on the global stage after past near-misses when uncapped teenager Jordan Petaia makes his debut on the wing against Uruguay.
The Queensland Reds 19-year-old was a surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad but would have made his test debut last year against Italy had he not suffered an injury in the leadup to the match.
Another hamstring injury in the pre-tournament training camp in New Caledonia dashed his hopes of a debut in the warmup test against Samoa, but he is now set to become Australia's youngest World Cup player and first test player born this century.
Apart from passion and hard training, Uruguay are fuelling their bid for World Cup credibility with plenty of caffeine as they bond over hot cups of 'mate', a traditional South American drink.
The national beverage of Uruguay and popular in Argentina and other parts of the region, mate is brewed in metal flasks from chopped-up yerba mate leaves.
The Uruguayan players have brought plenty with them to Japan, where the ingredients are hard to come by, and they shared a brew after training in Oita on Friday on the eve of their third World Cup pool clash against Australia.
The drink may be having a positive effect, with Uruguay upsetting Pacific power Fiji in their first pool match, the first major shock of the tournament.
Uruguay will bid to record their best result at a World Cup with victory over the Wallabies or Wales in their last pool match on Oct. 13. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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