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'He was probably holding us back': Brumbies star's cheeky jab at ex-teammate
The contingent of ex-Brumbies who have traded Canberra’s chilly mornings for Perth’s warm waters can expect a frosty reception when the Western Force trade blows with the Brumbies this Sunday.
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That is if towering Brumbies lock Nick Frost has anything to say about it. In particular, he has good mate Bayley Kuenzle in his sights when the opening whistle blows.
Joking with media on Tuesday, Frost threw out a few barbs to his ex-teammates who have been living it up in Perth.
“There’s a few ex-Brumbies over there now. It will be good to go up against them. We haven’t seen a few of those boys in a while.
“Especially my ex-housemate Bayley Kuenzle. I’ve seen a lot of them at beach bars with unbuttoned shirts, so we don’t actually know what they look like in any Force gear.
“It was me, Mack Hansen and Bayley [sharing a house]. I think he is the common denominator, when BK left the two of us made national squads, so he was probably holding us back a bit.
“Even Reesjan, Finesy and Reece [Tapine], it will be good to catch up. I’m very good mates will all of them. I might hold them back in a few rucks and give them a bit of lip on the field. It will be good fun.”
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Good-natured ribbing aside, Frost says he is keen to test himself against Wallabies lock Izack Rodda, who returns to Australian shores in a major coup for the Western Force.
“It will be good to go against each other. I haven’t played him before so that will be good fun.”
Frost joined the Wallabies squad last year and says while it was valuable to see how the other locks trained, he was looking to back up that experience by contributing minutes on the park in Super Rugby.
“My work-on has been my physicality. The message [from coach Dan McKellar] has been to go out and enjoy it and play some good footy. I want to try and get into some space, have a run and get the ball in my hands.”
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For the game on Sunday afternoon, the Brumbies are expecting a fast track and the Force to throw the ball around.
“We played them round one last year and that was a good battle over in Perth. they’re always good fun to play. It’s an afternoon game as well which is a bit of a bonus.
“It’s been a long pre-season. The last two weeks are always a bit of a drag because it’s so close but so far. We are really looking forward to this weekend.”
For loose forward Pete Samu, there will be extra motivation on Sunday, as it will be a great opportunity to bring along his newborn son for an afternoon Brumbies games.
“It will be good to get him out. He’s usually sound asleep for night games. It should be nice and warm and he’ll get to watch me play live. It will be good for families to get out and watch too. It’s always easier to play on Sunday afternoon.”
After suffering an MCL injury which saw him miss the Super AU finals and Trans-Tasman, Samu says he is keen to rip in.
“I had an injury last year which put me out of footy for a bit, so coming back it was good to string a couple of games together. Having the break has been helpful leading into this new season, and I’m keen to string a few more games together again.”
He will work in tandem with fellow back-rower Rob Valetini.
“My role for the Wallabies has been a bit different, so just coming back and fitting back into my role at the Brumbies has been great.
“Bobby [Valetini] has lifted his game in the past year, which has been good to see. I’m looking forward to getting in behind Bobby when he gets the ball in his hands.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What a dagg in more ways than one
5 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to commentsProctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
5 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
5 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
4 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
38 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
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