Rugby Australia begins mass re-signing bid for off contract Wallabies
Major announcements in Australian rugby are incoming, as the national body begins mass re-signing. But who will stay or go? Plus the game’s good guy, Cyclone Alfred’s impact and more in Rugby Confidential.
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Slowly but surely Rugby Australia has been re-signing its best players ahead of the World Cup after being slammed in the past for letting too many slip through their fingers.
At least four more Wallabies have got fresh contracts in front of them right now and are expected to autograph them before the next Test coach is appointed.
We hear that includes lock Nick Frost and hooker Billy Pollard.
Len Ikitau has been offered a deal to return to Australia following his stint with English club Exeter, that would secure him through to the end of 2028. But the centre is carefully considering his options, with a second year in his favour at Exeter, and other foreign clubs approaching him.
Five-eighth Noah Lolesio is rumoured to be heading to overseas after this year, while backrower Fraser McReight, fullback Tom Wright and halfback Jake Gordon are key retention targets for RA.
Watch this space.
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The two biggest decisions Rugby Australia has to make this year are now just weeks away.
While the final announcements remain under wraps because no one has actually put pen to paper yet, the appointment of Joe Schmidt’s successor as Wallabies coach is now expected within the next fortnight.
Barring a last-minute left-field appointment, Queensland’s Les Kiss and NSW’s Dan McKellar remain the frontrunners.
Rugby Australia is also inching closer to signing off on its next broadcast deal, which is expected to be an extension with Nine Entertainment and Stan Sport. The broadcast deal for the 2027 World Cup is a separate negotiation currently being undertaken by World Rugby. It is also close to being done.
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Like a lot of international sporting bodies, World Rugby officials are sweating on the pending announcement on the final choice of venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Although a formal announcement won’t be made until March 28, it is now expected that rugby sevens will be contested at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium after an initial proposal to stage the six-day men’s and women’s tournaments in Townsville was kicked into touch.
While Olympic hosts have been urged to save as much money as possible by using existing infrastructure, highly placed sources said Olympic and World Rugby bosses were not exactly thrilled by plans to hold sevens in North Queensland.
It is understood officials have been lobbying quietly in the background, using the phenomenal success of rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics as proof of why the abbreviated version of the game needs a bigger stage.
One of the untold stories of Paris is that organisers originally intended to play sevens at a smaller suburban stadium because the 80,000-seater Stade de France was hosting the athletics.
But World Rugby convinced the organisers to play sevens at the national stadium too, which meant starting the tournament two days before the Opening Ceremony.
It proved a masterstroke, with tickets to every session selling out and France going on to win the gold medal.
To sweeten the deal for 2032, it is understood Queensland will be awarded future rounds of the Australian leg of the annual World Series.
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In a throwback to the good old days, Rugby Australia has scheduled three Wallabies Tests and five Wallaroos Tests for early kick offs.
While each of the three Tests against the British and Irish Lions will start at 7.45pm, the Wallabies home matches against Fiji and Argentina will start in the family-friendly afternoon time slot while Australia’s women will play all bar one of their Tests before the sun goes down as they build ahead of this year’s World Cup in England.
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Hulking teenage lock Visesio Kite has been poached by French club La Rochelle after being granted a release by Rugby Australia.
The 16-year-old Queensland powerhouse, who is 204cm and 147kg, is joining the same club as Will Skelton.
There was a social media firestorm earlier this week when Kite’s father James accused RA of deliberately blocking the French move. But the governing body was establishing the rules with World Rugby, given Kite was below the usual age limit of 17 when foreign clubs are able to offer deals to teenage stars.
Kite has represented Queensland and Australia in under-16s, but his dad suggested that his pathways in Australia were restricted because RA had failed to show interest in developing him.
If Kite remains in France for the next five years, he will be eligible to represent them on the international stage.
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Waratahs super sub, Jack Bowen earned Rugby Confidential’s good guy of the game prize last week, when he literally gave one special fan the shirt off his back.
Bowen, a graduate of Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview, has kept up his friendship with Tom Perrott, also an old boy from the esteemed school’s SEIP (special education inclusion) program.
An active sports lover, Tom reached out to his pal to let him know he’d be in the stands supporting Bowen’s team in their game against Fijian Drua last Friday, but had outgrown his Waratahs jersey.
To Tom’s surprise, Bowen – grandson of tennis great, Tony Roche – offered his own jersey to Tom who wore it with pride on the night.
It worked like a charm, with NSW edging out the islander boys, 29-24.
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The Queensland Reds got a lucky break when they decided long before the Super Rugby season started that they would turn their back to back matches away to the Western Force and the Crusaders into a single road trip.
So instead of jetting home after winning in Perth last weekend, they flew straight to Christchurch, avoiding any weather interruptions from Cyclone Alfred. The match is due to played Sunday in good weather.
Queensland’s women also made an early getaway for their season opener, departing Brisbane ahead of schedule on Wednesday for Fiji and their match against the Pacific Islanders.
The Reds have included three members of the Australians Sevens on their bench, Bella Nasser, Teagan Levi and Kahli Henwood, as part of a plan to incorporate more Sevens players in the 15s game ahead of this year’s World Cup.
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Meanwhile, Cyclone Alfred has postponed the Australian club rugby championship match between Eastern Suburbs and Brothers.
Originally scheduled for this weekend, the game will now be played the following Saturday (March 15) at The Brothers Rugby Club ground in Albion.
The annual clash between the Shute Shield premiers and Hospital Cup winners has become one of the best supported games in the rugby calendar, and a big turnout is still expected if Alfred does not cause overwhelming damage.
It will be a weekend of festivities, with Brothers celebrating their 120th anniversary lunch on Friday, March 14 that will feature talks from both clubs’ respective coaches and captains.
On Saturday, the women’s club championship match, the Sukkar Cup, will be contested between Sydney University and Bond University – who claimed the three-peat in last year’s competition.
That will be followed by the men’s game for the Bernard Power Challenge trophy, which will be a State of Origin style precursor to the Reds versus Waratahs clash at Suncorp Stadium later that evening.
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Anyone who has watched Carlo Tizzano play this season, knows that the Western Force flanker has been close to the best player in the tournament.
And here’s the proof he’s definitely the busiest.
His stats from the first three rounds are mind blowing.
Not only is he leading the tryscorer, with five five-pointers, but he’s also the leading tackler with 63. Plus, he’s seventh overall, and the highest Aussie, with carries (34).
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Originally published as Rugby Australia begins mass re-signing bid for off contract Wallabies