AUSTRALIA

Mortlock ruled out of Bledisloe opener

Tuesday 22nd July 2008

Dazed and confused: Mortlock is helped off the Subiaco Oval pitch

Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock has been ruled out of Saturday's opening Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Sydney.

The inspirational skipper has failed to recover sufficiently from the head knock he sustained in the second half of last weekend's 16-9 Tri-Nations victory over South Africa.

Western Force centre Ryan Cross, who came on as a replacement for Mortlock at Subiaco Oval, is expected to start the match at outside centre in his captain's absence, while fellow Rugby League convert Timana Tahu is likely to earn a bench spot.

Mortlock's departure led to flanker George Smith assuming the captaincy, and the Wallabies most-capped forward will continue in that role at ANZ Stadium.

"Stirling was concussed last weekend. We had hoped that, with time, the symptoms would resolve themselves, but that hasn't happened soon enough for this match, so we've made the call early," said Australia coach Robbie Deans says.

"George took over once Stirling left the field in Perth and got the team over the finish line so we've opted to maintain continuity by leaving him in charge."