'It's not a holiday for me. I still want to be the best to play this game.'
While there were plenty of pull factors behind Samu Kerevi’s move to Japan, it still wasn’t an easy decision for the Wallabies midfielder to make.
A move to Asia would see him leaving behind a grandfather in Brisbane, a partner in Auckland, and a team that had nurtured him to becoming one of the best centres in the game.
It’s the latter factor that Kerevi probably struggled with the most.
Changing clubs wouldn’t limit his ability to visit his loved ones but it would obviously prevent him from turning out for the Reds or the Wallabies on a weekly basis.
“The biggest driving force was: do I stay in Queensland and be part of the Wallabies?” Kerevi told RugbyPass.
“Because I want to be the best centre in the world.”
Plenty of world-class midfielders featured at last year’s World Cup in Japan, such as Anton Lienert-Brown, Manu Tuilagi and Robbie Henshaw.
Factor in absentees Jonathan Davies and Wesley Fofana, alongside the likes of Jack Goodhue and Gael Fickou, and there are plenty of men putting up their hands to be considered the best of the best.
Kerevi sits alongside those players at the precipice of the world but there’s no clear-cut number one.
The manic pace of the Top League may have caught Samu Kerevi off-guard at first, but it has everything you need for a top-tier rugby competition. #SuperRugby #TopLeaguehttps://t.co/2qNVDtoc9a
— Tom Vinicombe (@TomVinicombe) March 19, 2020
While he initially feared he may lose ground to his competition were he to move, those fears quickly subsided.
“When I got to Japan, I realised that ambition doesn’t stop,” Kerevi said.
“I still want to be the best in my position, I still want to be the best in the comp.
“I’m going to put my best foot forward and when I finish my time here, I want them to say I’m one of the best centres to come to Suntory.
“They’re tough goals and something that I’ve gotta keep working on every day but just because I’m here, it’s not a holiday for me. I still want to be the best to play this game.”
Kerevi is currently on a three-year contract with Suntory Sungoliath and while he won’t be making any decisions about the future anytime soon, a return to Australia could be on the cards.
“A lot of conversations I’ve had with Australia, they’ve said they’ll talk to me early but I’m probably going to wait until the third year and see from there,” Kerevi said.
“This is sordid stuff… and there’s a whole lot more of it out there, stinking the place out”
– @JLyall93 has had enough of the keyboard warriors and the outright malevolence of their online savaging of players ???https://t.co/wabME4BhRh— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 24, 2020
“The Wallabies jersey has always been in my heart. It’s something I always want to aspire to. I just don’t know what the future holds at the moment, I’m just trying to focus on day-to-day.”
There’s also the very real chance that if Kerevi returns to Australia, he may not be the top dog for the Reds anymore, let alone for the national side.
Jordan Petaia debuted at the World Cup and looks every inch a star in the making – but his past two seasons of Super Rugby have been curtailed by injury.
This year, Hunter Paisami had to step into the Reds midfield when Petaia was ruled out of action.
In two more years, that pairing could be unstoppable.
Factor in the likes of James O’Connor and Tevita Kuridrani, who are still just in their late twenties, and developing Brumbies centre Irae Simone, amongst others, and there will be plenty of competition for Wallabies spots regardless of whether Kerevi returns.
“Even though we’ve had those conversations [about returning to Australia], the young guys coming through are going to make their own way,” said Kerevi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B90hkUEAxm0/
“Those guys are the next generation. Why try get me back when you’ve got them?
“I want Jordan Petaia and Hunter Paisami to take over at Queensland, take over Timmy Horan’s legacy.
“Even though I’ll always think my time is never past and I want to dominate that Reds jersey, those guys have the right to dominate and make their own legacies at Queensland.”
And while there isn’t any bad blood between Samu Kerevi and Rugby Australia, RA probably could have done a bit more to keep the midfielder in the country.
“I knocked back a lot of offers over the years and I could’ve doubled or tripled my pay but I didn’t because I had so much loyalty for Queensland and the Wallabies,” Kerevi said.
“At the time of my [new] contract negotiations, I wasn’t really getting a lot of love from that side to stay in Australia.
“It was there, but it was only when I said I was actually going that they started scrambling.”
That small niggle aside, Kerevi has no complaints about his time in Australia: “Everything else was awesome.”
Whether the likes of Jordan Petaia and Hunter Paisami crack on, Australian rugby has still lost one of its best performers from recent times and Samu Kerevi’s absence will be felt.
If Kerevi does return to Queensland after his Japanese sojourn, even if he’s not quite as dominant force as he was in 2019, it will be a huge boon for the region.
With so many players heading off-shore to wind down, it would be a fantastic sight to see one of Brisbane’s favourite sons returning to complete his playing career where it all began.
WATCH: Jim Hamilton and his son, JJ, have announced the opening fixtures of the RugbyPass FIFA Pros charity tournament.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
13 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to comments