WALLABIES halfback Brett Sheehan will be the first player to meet the team doctor today after he gave coach Robbie Deans a scare with news that he went off with a neck injury in yesterday's Shute Shield elimination semi-final.
Sheehan went off four minutes into the second half of the spirited match between Warringah and Randwick, which the Galloping Greens won 30-24.
The sight of Sheehan being attended to for several minutes before being escorted off the field immediately raised the question of who would replace the half in Deans's Wallabies squad for Saturday night's Tri Nations decider against the All Blacks in Brisbane.
It raised some intriguing debate among onlookers of the club match; that is, until Sheehan returned to the field about eight minutes later.
But by the time the game was over - with Warringah bundled out from the Shute Shield final and Randwick booked into a play-off against Gordon on Sunday for a place in the final - Deans had received the worrying news.
But Sheehan, who came off the bench in two Tests against the Springboks during the Wallabies tour of South Africa, was confident Deans's fears would be allayed.
"It hurt like hell when I did it. [But] as soon as I had feeling in my arms and legs I wasn't too concerned. Touch wood it is all right," Sheehan said after the game.
"I went to make a tackle on [Randwick fullback] Matty Nethery. Then our big Tongan second-rower [Sitaleki Timani] came across and he hit me forward into Nethery's hip and I got a bit of pins and needles. It was a bit of a jarred neck.
"It was just a bit stiff. I am moving so I am going all right. I wouldn't have gone back out if I had any doubt about it. I am not concerned at all."
The biggest pain for Sheehan was the result of yesterday's match.
Warringah fought back from a 22-17 half-time deficit that grew to 30-17 in the 58th minute before the Rats scored their third of three tries at the 78th minute to bring them within six points and in need of a converted try to win.
While Randwick were impressive in their early points haul boosted by four tries, the Rats deserved plenty of credit for their fighting spirit; especially No.7 Beau Robinson and Timani, who were both relentless in breaking through Randwick's defence and keeping the Rats in touch for the full 80 minutes.
It was Timani's burst and off-load that set up Rats reserve Willie Bishop to score their last try that hauled them back into the game with two minutes to go.
The Rats almost nailed the win on the bell when No.12 Clint Eadie threw a ball inside to back-rower Andrew Rasmus that was ruled forward by referee Nathan Pearce as Rasmus went over the line. Had the try been awarded, it would have been left to Eadie to kick the winning goal, which he was fully capable of.
Randwick will now play a preliminary final against Gordon at Pittwater Park in Narrabeen next Sunday. They were relieved more than cheered to escape with the victory yesterday, said outside-centre Morgan Turinui.
"The only positive is that our attack was really good in parts and that we won the game," he said. "If we play like that next week we'll get flogged."
Meanwhile, the other preliminary final will be between the Shute Shield minor premiers Sydney University and Eastern Suburbs at Coogee Oval on Saturday.
If anyone questions how a team could ever be better for a loss, Easts showed it with a four-tries-to-two 28-15 win over West Harbour on Saturday. The elimination semi-final win at Western Weekender Stadium in St Mary's came one week after they were beaten by Randwick in round 22.
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