Wallabies coach Dave Rennie adds uncapped lock Cadeyrn Neville to squad of potential Test contenders
A Brumby long forgotten for national duties has galloped back into the spotlight as Wallabies coach Dave Rennie attempts to cover a drastic shortage of locks in Australia.
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Five years after he was last named as a player of national interest (PONI), Brumbies lock Cadeyrn Neville is in line for his Wallabies debut in 2020 after coach Dave Rennie added him to a squad of potential Test players.
Neville returned to Super Rugby this year after three seasons with Japanese club Toyota Industry Shuttles, having previously represented Melbourne Rebels and Queensland Reds, and at 31 years is now a potential Wallabies bolter.
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A drastic shortage of locks in Australia has prompted Rennie to add Neville to his PONI squad, which is revised and updated as the Super Rugby season progresses and players either rise or fall in form, or suffer injury.
Some of Australia’s best locks are now based overseas; Will Skelton, Rory Arnold, Izack Rodda and Adam Coleman, while Waratahs captain Rob Simmons is heading to London Irish at the end of this season.
Reds second-rower Lukhan Salakaia-Loto is the obvious first pick as Wallabies lock, but his partner is uncertain.
There are discussions in the background about relaxing the Giteau Law to allow Rennie to pick some players from overseas, but those decisions will not be made until it’s clear what the Super Rugby and Test calendar looks like for 2021.
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Amid this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, Rugby Australia is still planning to host two Bledisloe Cup matches on October 10 (Brisbane) and October 17 (Sydney or Perth), before The Rugby Championship is played in a hub in New Zealand from November 7 to December 12.
It’s understood both South Africa and Argentina are keen to send their teams for the tournament, as unions desperately seek to recoup money from lost games.
It would be quite the story for Neville to feature in the Bledisloe or TRC series — he was last in the PONI squad in 2015 as Michael Cheika prepared for the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign. He’d previously been in a Wallabies train-on squad in 2012.
Neville never made the cut, and after leaving Australia in 2016 for his three-year Japanese stint, few could have predicted he’d be back in Wallabies calculations in 2020.
While they have not been officially added to the PONI list, Melbourne youngsters Pone Fa’amausili and Trevor Hosea, and Waratahs flyer James Ramm are certainly on Rennie’s radar.
Tighthead prop Fa’amausili has had an excellent breakout season, and the 23-year-old announced this week he is extending his contract with the Rebels until the end of 2022.
Hosea, 20, is a 203cm, 115kg lock who will be pressing for national honours in the near future.
Ramm, 22, has been a revelation for NSW on the wing, and his pace and kicking game have impressed the Wallabies coach.
SUPER SILENCE
There has been an eerie quiet surrounding the future of Super Rugby, but a trans-Tasman competition starting in 2021 is not completely out of the equation despite the re-emergence of the coronavirus in New Zealand.
Some believe the second wave of cases in Australia and New Zealand will make it impossible for the respective unions to guarantee broadcasters they can play out an entire trans-Tasman competition next year, and it’s more likely to start in 2022 if both agree on terms.
However, even with national carrier Qantas announcing that they don’t expect international flights to resume until July 2021 “at the earliest”, rugby teams would still be able to catch charter flights to and from New Zealand.
The trans-Tasman tournament is appealing to RA and Rugby New Zealand because it brings broadcast revenue from different regions, and private equity firms have shown interest in making an investment.
The Kiwis’ “expression of interest” offer closes at the end of August, while RA plan to take their final proposal to broadcasters on September 4, so time is running out.
RA certainly will not cut any teams as the Kiwis have proposed.
If they can’t agree, expect both nations to hold six-team domestic tournaments with crossover finals next year.
Australia will open doors to allow Argentinian players to sign with local franchises, extending allowances for foreign players in each squad.
PLAYOFF PLOT
Queensland is planning an ambush for their final round clash against the Brumbies, a match that will have huge ramifications on finals placings.
The Reds have a bye in round nine, and are secretly plotting to bring injured stars Hunter Paisami, Chris Feauai-Sautia and Alex Mafi into their team for the round 10 match against the Brumbies.
Heading into round eight, the Brumbies are first and the Reds second on the ladder, and a full-strength Queensland side at home could be looking to scoop the minor premiership against the competition favourites.
The match is part of the double-header Saturday showdown — the Rebels will play the Force two hours earlier on Saturday, September 5 — and will be Indigenous Round, with the Reds to unveil a specially designed jersey.
NOT SO NEW IDEA
Officials at Queensland Rugby twice proposed to their Rugby Australia counterparts that overseas players be allowed to participate in a State of Union concept.
After news emerged this week that RA will allow Australian players at foreign clubs to be selected for next year’s three-match series, Rugby Confidential was told the idea first emerged in Queensland in 2016 and then earlier this year.
In fact, QRU officials put together a list of 136 players eligible to player for a Queensland “Origin” team, many who are now plying their trade in Europe, the United Kingdom or Japan.
BRUMBIES STICK BOOT INTO TAHS
The butt of everyone’s jokes when they lose, now the Waratahs are being mocked by smug opponents for winning.
The Waratahs’ long-suffering fans have waited almost 18 months for NSW to chalk up two wins on the trot — then the Brumbies knocked them back down to Earth by belittling their achievement.
“They’ve won two games in a row so they’re world-beaters again and full of confidence, according to most,” the Brumbies’ coach Dan McKellar said.
A master of mind games, McKellar’s slight on NSW’s rare moment of celebration wasn’t lost on the Waratahs’ coach Rob Penney.
The Kiwi got the gag but no stranger to winding up the opposition himself, he didn’t waste a second throwing a verbal grenade back at the Brumbies’ chief stirrer.
“Did he say that, did he?” asked Penney.
“Talking us up? Do you think he‘s trying to deflect?
“We certainly wouldn’t be viewing ourselves as world-beaters after a couple of wins, we’re pretty grounded.
“They are very hot favourites at their home ground and what they‘ve done in the last few years that would be an appropriate status for them.”
On recent form, the Brumbies have got every reason to poke fun at their fierce rivals.
They flogged NSW during the original Super Rugby season then broke the Waratahs’ hearts with a last-minute try to win their most recent showdown a month ago.
But the Tahs have bounced back and hit a purple patch — at least by their own standards.
“It is interesting, we did talk about normally when you talk about back-to-back you’re talking about championships, not games,” Penney said. “We had the wee giggle about that fact — a hoodoo of back-to-back wins.
“Maybe three in a row is within our grasp now.”
Originally published as Wallabies coach Dave Rennie adds uncapped lock Cadeyrn Neville to squad of potential Test contenders