Rogers given leave by Waratahs

NSW are not expecting full-back Mat Rogers to play in the Super 14 until the fourth round.

New South Wales are not expecting full-back Mat Rogers to play until at least the fourth round of the Super 14 following the death of his father.

Coach Ewen McKenzie revealed in a statement that although Rogers had returned to training with the squad, he would not likely to be involved in the inaugural series until after New South Wales' first round of away games.

McKenzie said: "I've spoken to Mat and he's still struggling a bit, and we fully understand that it's going to take time for him to return to the Mat Rogers we all know.

"In terms of time, my best estimation for him to return would be after our first travel block, which means we could expect him back by round four.

"In the same way that we prepare for a player returning from injury, we are carefully managing Mat's comeback from this tragedy and we'll continue to do so in coming weeks."

New South Wales have a warm-up match with Auckland Blues in Gosford on Saturday.

Their opening three matches in the Super 14 are at Brisbane against Queensland Reds, in Cape Town (Western Stormers) and Pretoria (Northern Bulls).

Their first game is against the Natal Sharks in Sydney on March 4.