Rebuilding Waratahs sign another Wallaby – and Rebel – for 2025
The Waratahs have signed another Wallaby to strengthen their side for 2025, with loosehead prop Isaac Kailea joining fellow former Melbourne teammate Taniela Tupou in the NSW front-row.
After establishing himself regularly for the Rebels last season, Kailea’s club form was rewarded by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt with a first cap against Wales in July, and the prop also started the first Test against the Springboks in the Rugby Championship.
Kailea was primarily attracted to NSW by their new coaching ticket headed by former Brumbies’ coach Dan McKellar and did his due diligence with his Wallabies teammates ahead of making the move to Sydney.
“That was a big part of it,Dan McKellar and, as well as [scrum coach] Dan Palmer. I’ve spoken to ‘Slips’ [James Slipper] and Allan [Alaalatoa] here about the work they’ve done with them at the Brumbies,” Kailea said.
“They couldn’t speak highly enough about them, they were really positive in what they had to say, so it made my decision pretty easy.”
Isaac Kailea playing for the Wallabies against Georgia.Credit: Getty Images
Kailea was brought up in Melbourne and was sad to have left his hometown club and family, but the blow has been softened by the promise of some familiar faces in the Waratahs dressing room.
“I would have really loved to have stayed in Melbourne, obviously, that’s my home, but now I’m lucky enough to have a second home in Sydney,” Kailea said.
“There’s plenty of boys from home as well that are going up there, so I’ll be quite comfortable.
“I’m not too worried, it’s a pretty short trip home back to Melbourne. I’ve also got Rob Leota, I’ve got Taniela from the Rebels, so there’s a couple of boys there that I’m quite close with.”
Kailea has been one of Schmidt’s key finds for the Wallabies, taking to international rugby with ease after originally being drafted in to provide depth to a squad ravaged by injury.
Six months ago, Kailea had a simple goal: to establish himself in the Rebels front row. Now he is an international prop on the rise.
“The boys always ask me, ‘at the start of the year would you have expected to be starting against the Springboks come the end of the year’, and I would have laughed at them if they told me I was going to do that,” Kailea said.
“I would have been happy to start a couple of games for the Rebels and see where it went and I was just lucky enough to string a couple good performances together and here I am.
“It’s still a bit of a surreal experience. I can’t thank everyone enough that was a part of my journey. It is pretty special.”
Kailea will travel to Argentina on Friday with the Wallabies for their upcoming Tests in the Rugby Championship and has enjoyed getting to know his new rival for the No.1 jersey for club and country, Angus Bell.
“He’s actually a pretty funny character, he’s always joking around,” Kailea said. “Obviously, we’re in the same position, but I don’t feel like there’s any of that animosity.
“I think the boys in the camp try to play it up a bit like we’re going to be these big, massive rivals, but I’m happy to learn off him.”
Watch all the action from The Rugby Championship with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Round 3 kicks off Sunday, September 1 with South Africa v All Blacks (12:30am AEST) and Argentina v Wallabies (7:50am AEST).