Rugby: Lukhan Tui withdraws from Wallabies squad after family death, fan altercation

  • 22/09/2018

Lukhan Tui has made himself unavailable for the Wallabies' to tour South Africa and Argentina to round off their 2018 Rugby Championship campaign

The 22-year old flanker has withdrawn from the 30-man squad after being involved in an incident with a fan following the Wallabies' 23-19 loss to Argentina on the Gold Coast.

The incident occurred in the Wallabies' reserves seating area at the bottom of the grandstand, where family members were greeting players after the match.

The spectator allegedly pushed Tui's sister moments after the loss. Tui went and confronted the fan before both men started pushing each other.

The fan reportedly told Tui: "You're all f***ing useless. F***ing disgraceful. Why don't you play with some heart? You should all be f***ing ashamed."

The altercation added to an already emotional week for Tui's family, after his stepfather died suddenly on Wednesday.

The fan wearing a Wallabies jersey was later removed from the stadium.

Tui's loss is compounded by the fact that fellow loose forward Pete Samu has been ruled out with a knee injury.

Uncapped halfback Jake Gordon and loose forward Angus Cottrell have been called into the squad.

"There's an opportunity presented to us now to get some good victories overseas, and that's going to come from consistency in the way that we play," said coach Michael Cheika.

"We have got some new additions to the squad, and these guys have shown plenty of grit and determination to get an opportunity at a higher level so now we're looking for them to add that to the mix.

"We're very determined to make sure that we repay the faith and show people what we're about in the way we play."

The full squad for Argentina and South Africa is:

Backs: Tom Banks, Kurtley Beale, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Jake Gordon*, Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Marika Koroibete, Jack Maddocks, Sefa Naivalu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua.

Forwards: Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman, Angus Cottrell, Folau Faingaa, Ned Hanigan, Michael Hooper (captain), Sekope Kepu, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, David Pocock, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson, Izack Rodda, Rob Simmons, Scott Sio, Caleb Timu, Taniela Tupou. 

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