Rugby-Australia skipper Horwill commits to Wallabies until 2015

SYDNEY, May 6 (Reuters) - Wallabies skipper James Horwill is looking forward to the "series of a lifetime" against the British and Irish Lions after signing an extension to his deal with the Australia Rugby Union (ARU) until 2015 on Monday.

The 27-year-old lock, who missed the last international season through injury, had already extended his deal with the Queensland Reds and was therefore unlikely to join fellow Wallabies Drew Mitchell and Digby Ioane in heading to France.

Horwill will be one of the first names on the team sheet for the Lions clashes and is likely to lead his country into the highly-anticipated series.

"It's coming up quickly now and you can really feel that in the intensity it has brought to Super Rugby this year, especially in the derby games," he said in a news release.

"The competition just to make the squad is fierce, which is exactly as it should be.

"It bodes well for what is going to be the series of a lifetime, both for the test players but also those players who feature against the Lions in the tour matches.

"You just have to look at the power in the touring squad they have named to see that."

Horwill led Queensland to the 2011 Super Rugby title and then captained Australia for the first time when the Wallabies clinched the Tri-Nations title for the first time in a decade with a 25-20 win over the All Blacks.

Handed the captaincy on a permanent basis in preference to Rocky Elsom in a surprise move on the eve of the 2011 World Cup, Horwill led Australia to third place in New Zealand.

He had missed the entire 2010 international season with a knee problem and his injury woes returned last year with a freak incident in May leaving him with a serious hamstring tear.

Those absences mean he has played just 35 tests since his debut in 2007 but, if fit, he is sure to add to that tally in the three matches against the Lions in June and July.

"Obviously it's been frustrating at times, but you have to take the bad with the good," Horwill said. "The main thing is to focus on what's dead ahead - and that couldn't be more exciting.

"Playing the British and Irish Lions is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you can feel the excitement around the country, be it the players, the rugby community or the general public." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)

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Rugby-Wallabies skipper Horwill to return this weekend

By Nick Mulvenney

SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) - Wallabies captain James Horwill will finally return to the pitch for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby this weekend after a frustrating 10 months out injured.

In a major boost to Australia before the tour of the British and Irish Lions in June and July, the lock will skipper the 2011 Super Rugby champions against South Africa's Bulls at Lang Park in Brisbane on Saturday.

Horwill, who sustained a hamstring injury in a freak incident in a match against ACT Brumbies last May, had been slated to return in the pre-season in early February but injured himself in the final training session before the match.

"Getting James back on the field has been a long time coming and everyone is extremely excited to see him back after what has been a frustrating 10 months without rugby," Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said in a news release.

"In a perfect world he would have returned sooner if not for an ankle injury he suffered in an unlucky instance at training, but he has handled every challenge thrown at him with class and is now ready to go."

Nicknamed "Big Kev" after the enthusiastic star of a popular Australian TV commercial, Horwill missed the entire international season last year after leading the Wallabies to the World Cup in 2011.

A long run in the Reds side for Horwill would be welcome to Australia coach Robbie Deans, and not just because of the 27-year-old's leadership capabilities.

Australia, who are likely to be sorely tested by the Lions up front, suffer from a serious lack of depth in the second row and lost 116-cap lock Nathan Sharpe to retirement at the end of last season.

Horwill makes his return a week after influential Wallabies and Reds scrumhalf Will Genia, who had been sidelined by knee reconstruction and played in the Reds' shock defeat to the Perth-based Western Force last weekend.

Reds openside flanker Liam Gill, promoted to second in the Wallabies pecking order behind Michael Hooper by the season-ending injury to David Pocock, will miss Saturday's match against the Bulls because of a knee injury, however.

"While we don't consider his injury severe, it's too early in the season to risk putting him out there and ultimately suffering further damage," said McKenzie.

Big-tackling outside centre Anthony Faingaa, another Wallabies regular, also returns after being forced to pull out of last week's match against the Force because of a back injury.

Test winger Digby Ioane is back in the starting line-up after being banned by the Reds for the Force game because of an incident in a Melbourne pub. (Editing by Ian Ransom)

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