This was published 8 months ago
Why Edmed won’t follow his father – and Nawaqanitawase – to league … just yet
By Tom Decent
When Waratahs and Wallabies winger Mark Nawaqanitawase signed with the Sydney Roosters in December on a deal starting in 2025, NSW playmaker Tane Edmed was proud of his childhood mate but sad to see him switch to rugby league.
“I’ve known ‘Marky’ for an extremely long time, since I was like six. We actually played league together at Leichhardt Wanderers,” Edmed said.
The pair will have one more season together at the Waratahs before Nawaqanitawase departs for the NRL. Things are going well so far this year, with Edmed playing a lead role in the Waratahs’ upset 37-24 win over the Crusaders on Saturday in Melbourne.
Two years ago, when the Waratahs beat the Crusaders at Leichhardt Oval, Edmed broke down in tears during a post-match interview with Stan Sport’s Morgan Turinui.
Beating the Crusaders meant a great deal to the No.10 but doing it at Leichhardt Oval was particularly special given the career his father carved out there.
The Edmed surname is certainly more synonymous with rugby league than that of Nawaqanitawase.
Tane Edmed playing for Eastwood and father Steve Edmed playing for Balmain in the NSWRL grand final in 1989. Credit: Karen Watson, Fairfax Archive
Tane’s father, Steve Edmed, was an old school rugby league hardman who played the majority of his 157 first-grade matches for Balmain in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
It was Edmed snr who coached his son and Nawaqanitawase during their league days as kids at the Wanderers.
Tane Edmed is off-contract at the end of this season. Despite not ruling out a switch to league in the future, the 23-year-old wants to stay in rugby.
“Not right now. I’m pretty content in rugby at the moment,” Edmed said. “I want to see this game do really well and at the moment, I’m all-in with union. I’m excited to see how the Wallabies go and how we go as a team in Super Rugby. You never know down the track.”
Tane Edmed in action against the Crusaders. Credit: Getty
According to Edmed, Nawaqanitawase has received some light-hearted sledges from teammates at Waratahs headquarters when the Roosters occasionally share training facilities in Daceyville.
“He knows the boys will make jibes and he’s a bit uncomfortable about that,” Edmed said. “All his interest and time is in the Waratahs at the moment.
“He’s such a weapon because he’s a freak of nature but to go and see him challenge himself in a new sport - if that’s what he wants to do - I’m all for it. There’s no negative feelings from the team.”
A fresh Wallabies coach and a new World Cup cycle has given Super Rugby players extra incentive to stake their claims for national honours.
The Wallabies No.10 spot is certainly up for grabs, with new coach Joe Schmidt officially starting on Saturday as a spectator at AAMI Park during the Waratahs’ victory.
However, Edmed hasn’t thought much about national team honours. He’s just happy to be in the box seat at the Waratahs after a 2023 season that was disrupted by a back injury caused by overtraining.
With incumbent Wallabies No.10 Ben Donaldson now at the Western Force, Edmed knows this is his year to make inroads at NSW.
“Winning can solve a lot of issues,” said Edmed ahead of the Waratahs’ clash with the Highlanders on Friday in Sydney. “Speaking to my old man about that golden Wallabies era in the 1990s and early 2000s, everyone was watching rugby and they were going well.
Mark Nawaqanitawase and Tane Edmed ahead of the Shute Shield final in 2020.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“Even my dad, who was a diehard league guy, was still invested in how the Wallabies were going. Winning is a major solution.
“Our Waratahs fans have been awesome while things haven’t been going great.
“I just want to win. We’ve got a team that can do really well. The flow-on effect of that is the gold jersey that everyone wants to wear.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a dream of mine to put on the gold jersey, but at the moment I think it would be premature to think about that.
“We’ve learnt from our mistakes last year, where we probably didn’t go as well as we’d like. It’s just about that consistency.”
Watch all the action from the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, kicking off on February 23, with every match ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.
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