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Breakout star Andrew Kellaway re-signs with Rugby Australia

By AAP
Photo credit: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

Preparing for his first 2022 Super Rugby Pacific match, star winger Andrew Kellaway says he has no qualms about re-signing with Melbourne despite their attacking woes.

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Winless from three rounds, the Rebels are looking to breathe life into their season when they host the Brumbies on Friday night at AAMI Park, with Kellaway recovering from a foot stress fracture to play.

In last year’s Super Rugby AU, the Rebels scored the fewest tries of the Australian teams and were unable to maximise the talents of Kellaway and test flyer Marika Koroibete.

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The Aotearoa Rugby Pod looks ahead to Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific.

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The Aotearoa Rugby Pod looks ahead to Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific.

From three matches this season they have scored five tries to also rank last but Kellaway, who has signed with Australian rugby until the end of 2024, says they’re on the right path.

“We haven’t played the way we would have liked to play and I think Ryan Martin is a world-class attack coach,” the 26-year-old said on Thursday.

“I’ve been pretty lucky, I’ve played in a few countries under a few coaches and Ryan is up there so I’ve got no issues with the way we’re trying to play.

“I have issues with the way we’re currently playing and I think everyone does, so if we can do what we say we’re going to do and do what we plan to do there will be tries aplenty.

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“It was a really easy decision for me to stay.”

Heading overseas when his career stalled with the Waratahs, Kellaway said he felt he owed the Rebels.

They initially signed him in 2020 and then again last year after a short stint playing in Japan.

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“Melbourne threw me a lifeline when nobody else would and that’s a debt that I don’t think I’ve quite repaid yet,” he said.

“Another three years gives me a chance to hopefully go close to doing that and again added to that the chance to play one more test is more than enough reason to stay so I’m super excited.”

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Kellaway had a breakout Wallabies season last year, making his debut against France in July and was selected in all but one of the Wallabies’ 14 tests.

As well as winning Rugby Australia’s rookie-of-the-year award, he was nominated for 2021 World Rugby breakthrough player of the year.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was happy to have Kellaway commit, particularly after losing winger Koroibete to Japanese rugby.

“Andrew’s a top man and a mature rugby player who has quickly become an important member of our mob on and off the field,” Rennie said.

“We all saw the impact he was able to have in his first year at test level and his work ethic and professionalism will ensure he continues to put himself in the best position to do that moving forward.”

The Rebels have historically matched up well against the Brumbies, who are unbeaten in three rounds.

“I think I’ve beaten the Brumbies at the Rebels more times than I did with the Waratahs,” Kellaway said.

“By the same token the Brumbies have been the benchmark for the Australian teams for a while now so if we can’t get up for this we might as well pack a bag and go home.”

– Melissa Woods

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
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