Ex-Wallabies star Samu Kerevi named in Australian Olympic sevens squad
Former Wallabies star Samu Kerevi has been named in Australia’s 12-man sevens squad to compete at the Tokyo Olympics later this month.
Kerevi has been named as the highest-profile member in Tim Walsh’s squad as Australia narrow in on the Games, where they will look to challenge for a podium finish.
The 33-test international confirmed his switch from the XV-man game to sevens in May following the completion of the Top League in Japan, where he had been playing for Suntory Sungoliath.
Walsh said at the time of Kerevi’s arrival in Sydney that there would be no guarantees the 27-year-old would make the cut for the Olympics, but it appears the Fijian-born powerhouse has done enough to force his way into the team.
Kerevi paid tribute to Walsh for keeping faith in him with only a short timeframe to prove himself worthy of selection.
“This is awesome and such a privilege to represent my country again,” Kerevi said, as per rugby.com.au.
“It was a bit of a roll of the dice and I rated my chances as very slim coming back from my medial ligament strain.
“Walshy has backed me and I’ve still got a few more weeks to get up to speed with the running load and exactly the role the team need me to play.”
Kerevi, who featured twice for Australia at last weekend’s Oceania Sevens in Townsville, said he was “still pinching” himself at his selection and was thankful that Suntory Sungoliath had thrown their support behind his Olympic ambitions.
“Because we play a short Top League season, Suntory said to go for it if there was any opportunity. They’ve been very supportive and the only thing they’ve asked for is tickets to the sevens,” he joked.
Kerevi’s inclusion in the Australian squad is in stark contrast to New Zealand’s selection philosophy given All Blacks Sevens head coach Clark Laidlaw opted against picking All Blacks star Caleb Clarke in his 12-man squad to compete at the Games.
Instead, the five-test wing has been named as one of three travelling reserves in a surprise omission that leaves New Zealand without their highest-profile player.
All Blacks star Caleb Clarke has missed out on the 12-man All Blacks Sevens squad to compete at the Tokyo Olympics later this month. #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics #AllBlacksSevens https://t.co/fBcaGmmg4V
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 1, 2021
Australia, however, will be looking to fully utilise their star man, who is hopeful of bringing a medal back from the Japanese capital.
Walsh, meanwhile, congratulated those who will accompany Kerevi at what he described as “the most anticipated Olympics in history”.
“We are a diverse squad of individuals and skillsets and together we are ready to challenge the best players and teams in the rugby sevens world,” he said.
“Today we are both physically and mentally fit, thanks to players and management making performance choices and doing their job to their best ability.
“Congratulations to the final 12 and the entire Sevens program for delivering us to this point, the next month is going to be one to remember.”
The Australian women’s squad was also announced on Saturday, with 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallists Shannon Parry, Sharni Williams, Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite and Charlotte Caslick all included.
The men’s Olympic competition is scheduled to kick-off on July 26 and run until July 28, while the women’s competition is scheduled to run between July 29 and July 31.
Australian Men’s Sevens Olympics squad:
Lachlan Anderson
Joe Pincus
Dylan Pietsch
Nicholas Malouf
Henry Paterson*
Maurice Longbottom
Joshua Coward
Joshua Turner
Lachlan Miller
Samu Kerevi*
Dietrich Roache*
Henry Hutchison
Australian Women’s Sevens Olympics squad:
Shannon Parry
Sharni Williams
Faith Nathan
Dominique Du Toit
Emma Tonegato
Evania Pelite
Charlotte Caslick
Madison Ashby
Tia Hinds*
Sariah Paki
Demi Hayes
Maddison Levi*
* – denotes new cap
Comments on RugbyPass
Oh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
1 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to comments