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‘I’d carve up’: NRL star ‘100 per cent’ open to rugby switch
NRL star Josh Addo-Carr believes he’d “carve up” rugby union as the New South Wales Blues and Australia Kangaroos representatives expressed an interest in jumping codes.
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Addo-Carr, who was famously branded “the fastest man on the planet” by Phil Gould during a State of Origin clash, is a dual-premiership winner with the Melbourne Storm.
The 28-year-old made a big-money move back to Sydney with the Canterbury Bulldogs ahead of the 2022 NRL season, and the speedster is open to another headline-grabbing move down the track.
While Addo-Carr has not been publicly identified as a cross-code target for Rugby Australia, the Rugby League World Cup winner is “100 per cent” open to a shock move to the 15-player game.
“Scott Wisemantel did a little pre-season up with them in Lennon Head,” Addo-Carr told Josh Mansour on the Let’s Trot Show.
“I reckon I’d carve up.
“Bruh, 100 per cent… Yeah, 100 per cent. I reckon it’d be fun. Meet new people, travel the world. I’ll give it a crack bro. Yeah, why not?”
Rugby Australia signed Sydney Roosters flyer Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to a lucrative multi-year deal earlier this year, with the teenager expected to play a leading role against the British and Irish Lions in 2025.
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While that decision made headlines at the time as RA claimed one over their rival code the NRL, CEO Phil Waugh has ruled out throwing big cheques at rugby league’s finest – which is possibly a concern as Addo-Carr would seemingly cost a fair amount to sign.
“I keep talking about being fiscally responsible because the game historically has spent more than we can afford,” Waugh said, as reported by AAP.
“Which is why then I come back to what’s the environment that we’re creating to attract players?
“So it’s not just all about money. You don’t want to be attracting people just because of the money and then you don’t have the environment sorted out.
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“So we can’t ignore the fact that we’ve got athletes, not just rugby league targeting them, but you’ll have overseas clubs target them as well from a rugby perspective.
“And we need to ensure that we’re creating an environment that people want to be here and we’re filling stadiums and it’s a real buzz around the game that we’ve experienced previously.
“But we’re certainly not there right now.”
But the idea that Addo-Carr is interested in a switch comes as a breath of fresh air for rugby union in Australia amidst a transitional period for the sport.
Eddie Jones recently resigned as the Wallabies’ head coach after Australia failed to make it out of the Rugby World Cup pool stage for the first time.
Six member union states also publicly expressed their disapproval of Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan, who has since moved on from the role and been replaced.
Wallabies wing Mark Nawaqanitawase, who is widely considered one of the best young rugby talents in the country, has also reportedly met with the Sydney Roosters over a possible move.
Comments on RugbyPass
“If they’d have beaten England, I still feel we would have been talking ‘is this the best team ever,’ ‘is this the best team that’s ever played in the Six Nations'” he said. “I still think they’re not quite that good. I actually don’t think they’re that good.” So Trimble is saying he doesn’t think this is the best 6N team of all time. He is silent on if it is the best Irish team of all time. Can’t disagree with him. Just another misrepresentative clickbait headline from the guys at RP.
11 Go to commentsWow, do we really still have to listen to all the excuses and “unfairness” of it all. Even blaming the bounce of an egg shaped ball for the loss. But the article is about context, so what about the Springboks having to play the other 5 teams in the top 6 and still beating a comparatively rested AB team on a very empty tank.
206 Go to comments“Teams would generally have three coaches below their head honcho; attack coach, defence coach, forwards coach” do they? I’m not sure what the NZ set up is tbh, but the other 4 sides top 5 sides all have very different structures to the one outlined in the article! As well as attack, defence, and forwards coaches, SA, Ireland, and France also have specialist scrum coaches. England have a specialist scrum coach too, but arguably don’t have a forwards coach, with that role taken on by Borthwick. SA also have a backs coach in addition to defence and attack, and Ireland and England have fitness coaches, with England also having two skills coaches.
2 Go to commentsWorst article I've read in a while. Trying to disguise a backhand slap as a compliment. The whole article is a bit weird and negative. I think South African men are emotional in general… think Clad le Clos’s father 2012 London Olympics.
2 Go to commentsIreland are going to win the world cup.
11 Go to commentsIt was the strangest result ever. Etzebeth should've been yellow card for his cynical retiring move and a penalty try. Birth second half tries by the Allblacks were fantastic and the TMO operating outside the law to rule out the first try was egregious. Yes, the boks got the win but it was through some bizarre officiating that allowed them to sneak home against 14 men that dominated them. The quieter Bok supporters know and acknowledge the Allblacks were the better and dominant side. Justifying the win because they beat a pre world cup Allblacks selection is silly.
206 Go to commentsA very English thing to do hey Courtney, blerrie kant
4 Go to commentsIt sounds like Andrew is trying to convince himself or has just lost all perspective. The team did look jaded for the last couple of games of the six nations but a few things were wrong there. Italy tackled their hearts out and made Ireland work hard for every try. Outsmarted by Scotland? Huh? Ireland got held up over the line about 4 times. Scotland did nothing on attack the whole game other than one breakaway near the end. A recharge and reset is needed which they hopefully will have had before the SA your.
11 Go to commentsIncluding SA and Argie teams was great for the quality of rugby, but middle of the night games and player travel/ jet lag make that unworkable. I think that SA in Europe and Argie building an American league with USA, Canada etc would be better long term. If Oz can't sustain Rebels then next cab off the rank should be a Japanese team. Keep regional comps to time zones, both club and test rugby. Then existing test windows for test tours plus RWC.
6 Go to commentsMisogynists have feelings too!
2 Go to commentsCrowd sizes of the URC v the Premiership must be a big factor.
1 Go to commentsWell you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
206 Go to commentsThanks Sam. Interesting read. Harder or easier for Parling to come into a completely new setup where performance was abysmal last time out? I’d suggest easier to be better but, as you suggest, will be a lot to do with how much latitude he’s granted. Hopefully all he needs. With hybrids like Holloway, Hannigan, Swinton and Leota as options at 6 we have the basics for a strong lineout. BPA returning means we have good options at 2 also with Faessler, Porecki and Uelese, although Jordan is a scrumming beast rather than a dart thrower. I’m typically a pessimist or realist but that’s never applied to the Wallabies
2 Go to commentsMad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
4 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
3 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
10 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
10 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
6 Go to comments