Parry ruled out for remainder of World Cup

Sun, Aug 20, 2017, 2:45 AM
Sam Phillips
by Sam Phillips
Shannon Parry has had to return to Australia and will miss the final two matches of the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup, but she has faith in the next generation of young women who are forming the new-look Wallaroos side.

Wallaroos skipper Shannon Parry is heading home, an elbow injury bringing her World Cup campaign to a halt.

Parry was pushing to be part of the Wallaroos' run at a fifth place finish but medical advice has ruled any chance of that out, as she now heads back to Sydney to determine the severity of the injury.

"It's definitely not an ideal scenario to be leaving the touring party but it's best, from the medical advice, that I head home, get my injury sorted and move forward to what's coming up," Parry said.

Parry remains one of the Wallaroos' best players but she has been impressed with the level of talent among Generation Next, with many first time World Cup players more than capable of playing in two or three more.

Parry led the Wallaroos very well in their first two starts. Photo: ARU Media/Brendan Hertel"I think it's fantastic to have this next generation of Wallaroos come through," Parry said.

"Going forward, if we can retain these players, these are players that are young enough to play in another two, if not three, World Cups.

"For us, it's about looking after them and getting them enough opportunities so when that next World Cup comes, we are shooting for that top four position."

The Wallaroos are currently underfunded in comparison to the other top tier nations around the world and Parry believes that better backing would deliver better results in the near future.

"Off the back of the win in Rio I think we saw that if you put money in, you do get that reward," she said.


"If we put the money and the resources in that these 15s girls need to be competitive on the world stage, there's no doubt we will get those results."

While Parry won't be part of the rematch with Ireland, she has genuine belief her troops can turn the table come Tuesday night.

"We're definitely going out there to beat the Irish and put ourselves in the frame for that fifth and sixth playoff," she said.

"That would be a great result for this team.

"Obviously not quite where we wanted to be but we've got to move forward now and beat Ireland in a couple days time."

The Wallaroos take on Ireland in the fifth place playoff semi final on Tuesday night, kicking off at 11pm AEST, broadcast LIVE on FOX SPORTS.

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