Rogers skips surgery to take Test chance

Mat Rogers is to delay shoulder surgery in order to tour Argentina and Europe with Australia later this year.

The Test three-quarter has suffered from a painful right shoulder for much of the season, but is determined not to miss out on the trip.

Rogers has won six caps, all from the bench, and is keen to earn his first start. "[Australia coach] Eddie Jones wants to try a few things on that tour so I really need to be part of that," Rogers said. "We talked about it, and if I got the surgery done as soon as I came back [from South Africa] I might have been cutting it fine as it could take anywhere from four to eight weeks to recover."

The tour squad is announced on 25 September and the Wallabies will play Argentina on 2 November before hitting Europe where they play Ireland on 9 November, England on 16 November and Italy on 23 November.

In New Zealand, Canterbury retained the Ranfurly Shield with a mistake-ridden 44-17 win over a hapless Northland at Jade Stadium in Christchurch yesterday.

In atrocious wet and windy conditions the match barely rose above the near-freezing temperature. Canterbury adopted a high-intensity approach and Northland never found their stride as they fell by seven tries to three.

When Northland did retain the ball they looked solid, but with referee Paul Honiss blowing 19 penalties and free kicks in the first-half alone, continuity was a problem.