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A mixture of Wallabies, seasoned Super Rugby professionals and local club game talent headline the Canberra Vikings team set to undertake the 2019 National Rugby Championship.
Led by Head Coach Nick Scrivener, the Vikings, who reached the semi-final stage last season only to fall to the Fijian Drua in the Pacific Islands, have named a strong-looking group of players that includes full Wallabies internationals Tom Banks, Joe Powell, Pete Samu and Blake Enever.
There’s a real emphasis on youth amongst the group with promising young talent such as Junior Wallabies props Bo Abra and Angus Wagner, hooker Lachlan Lonergan, and backs Noah Lolesio, Bayley Kuenzle and Len Ikitau, set to take the tournament by storm.
“I’m very pleased with the balance of the squad that we have selected and am looking forward to the competition getting underway,” Scrivener said of the Vikings 2019 selection.
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“There’s some very exciting young talent in the group, which should mix well with the players who have had experience of playing in Super Rugby. I’m also extremely exited by the prospect of seeing some of the local club players showing their quality at this level.”
Amongst those who have shone in the ACT club competition, the Griffin Legal John I Dent Cup, is scrumhalf, and Tuggeranong Vikings points-machine, Ryan Lonergan, Owls’ centre Irae Simone and Queanbeyan Whites Junior Wallabies lock Nick Frost.
https://twitter.com/WorldRugby/status/1137377352869191681
Other club talent aiming to shine includes Jake Helgesen of Gungahlin Eagles, a former winner of the MacDougall Medal, Easts speedster George Morseu, Vikings centre Andrew Robinson and Queanbeyan Whites book-end Fred Kaihea.
NEWS: VIKINGS NAME 2019 NRC SQUAD
A mixture of seasoned Super Rugby professionals, and some of the best that the local club game can offer, headline the Canberra Vikings team set to undertake the 2019 National Rugby Championship.
Read More: https://t.co/0WlNanYOfQ pic.twitter.com/s6ozNWvu0t
— ACT Brumbies (@BrumbiesRugby) August 26, 2019
SQUAD
Backs: Tom Banks, Mack Hansen, Len Ikitau, Bayley Kuenzle, Noah Lolesio, Ryan Lonergan, George Morseu, Andrew Muirhead, Joe Powell, Toni Pulu, Andrew Robinson, Irae Simone, Seamus Smith, Tom Wright
Forwards: Angus Allen, Bowen Abra, Nick Dobson, Blake Enever, Nick Frost, Luke Gersekowski, Jake Helgesen, Fred Kaihea, Lachlan Lonergan, Tp Luteru, Connal Mcinerney, Will Miller, Tom Ross, Pete Samu, Levi Shaw, Jake Simeon, Darcy Swain, Rob Valetini, Angus Wagner
The Canberra Vikings National Rugby Championship challenge for 2019 will begin with a visit to Melbourne to take on the Rising this Saturday 31 August, and will include four home matches, all at Viking Park.
Comments on RugbyPass
So Ireland will be tired. Despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Peoples champions? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win inconsequential tests. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
1 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
1 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
2 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
5 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
2 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
5 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
5 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
2 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
4 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
7 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
5 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
12 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
7 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
5 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
7 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
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