Palu cleared of serious injury
The good news just keeps on coming for the NSW Waratahs, with barnstorming No.8 Wycliff Palu cleared of a hamstring tear in the aftermath of their record breaking 73-12 Super 14 victory over the Lions on Friday night.
NSW officials were optimistic Palu would be fit to play in the Waratahs' next fixture against the Western Force in Perth next Saturday.
The big back rower went for an MRI following the game and the results removed some initial fears NSW coach Chris Hickey and his medical staff had about the injury.
"He has got a slight hamstring strain, but it's not as bad as we initially thought it might have been," Hickey told AAP on Saturday.
"We initially thought he might have had a tear in his hamstring, but the MRI has shown it's just a strain and clinically on examination it's pretty good.
"We'll just have to see how he progresses early in the week, but at this stage we would be pretty optimistic that he will be right to play."
The positive injury news on Palu completed an excellent week for the Waratahs following their re-signings of backs Berrick Barnes, Daniel Halangahu and Tom Carter.
They kept the momentum rolling on Friday night, establishing franchise Super records for most tries (11), conversions (9), highest score (73) and biggest winning margin (61).
Additionally, winger Drew Mitchell became the first Waratah to score four Super tries and skipper Phil Waugh became the most capped NSW player ever (119), moving one game ahead of Chris Whitaker.
Hickey wasn't getting carried away by his team's rousing record-breaking display and cautioned against expecting a similar performance against the struggling Force.
"The reality is next week against the Force, it's a totally different challenge and you are probably not going to be able to play the same sort of footy that we played against the Lions," Hickey said.
"But we will take a lot of confidence from that performance, it's pleasing when something you've been working towards quite a while actually comes off."
While the Waratahs received plenty of plaudits for their attack, Lions coach Dick Muir described their defence as outstanding.
"I really believe that was the best defensive side we've played against and they were able to be patient and convert it into attack when they needed to," Muir told AAP.
"It was a poor showing on our side, but I think credit needs to passed where it's due and they were very good.
"They've got a good balance between attack and defence. They've got game breakers all over that side and they are playing smart football."
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