Kerevi insists he's not the answer as Wallabies search for a new outside centre
The Wallabies are confident they can plug the gaping hole left by a shattering shoulder injury to backline linchpin Len Ikitau.
The only problem is, the class act seemingly best equipped to replace Ikitau at outside centre in the two coming Bledisloe Cup matches against the All Blacks doesn’t want to play there.
Samu Kerevi first burst onto the Test scene in 2016 as a dynamic No.13 and reluctant No.12.
Now it’s the opposite, and it looked that way after Kerevi shifted from inside to outside centre after Ikitau was injured while scoring Australia’s opening try in Saturday night’s 34-31 Rugby Championship loss to Argentina.
Eddie Jones’ decision to pick halfback Tate McDermott and five-eighth Carter Gordon as his only two backs on the bench necessitated the reshuffle that ultimately brought the Wallabies unstuck at Commbank Stadium.
Australia had won their past four Tests when Kerevi and Quade Cooper formed a successful 10-12 axis, and the two combined to put Ikitau over as the hosts raced to a 10-0 lead in as many minutes.
But when Ikitau departed, the Wallabies’ attack broke down and their backline defence looked shaky.
“We prepared for different scenarios. That was the last one on my list, having Lenny out,” Kerevi said.
“Defensively, he’s one of the best in the world that I’ve played with. He’s been great there. Even his voice out there.”
Kerevi conceded the reshuffle robbed the Wallabies of rhythm.
Now coach Jones has been left searching for answers – but Kerevi doesn’t seem to believe he’s the solution.
“It’s funny, through the (Queensland) Reds years I was playing 13 and I actually didn’t like playing 12,” he said.
“Coming up with the Wallabies, I hated it and Cheik (former coach Michael Cheika) would put me there and obviously the Reds started putting me there.
“I’ll do whatever’s best for the team. But we’ve got some depth there. (Izaia) Perese has been playing well for the Waratahs. He’s training the house down, and some other backs that can fill that role.
“Obviously Lalakai (Foketi) can play there, shift from 12 to 13.”
Regardless of who steps up while Ikitau is out for up to eight weeks, a bullish Kerevi says the Wallabies will continue trying to play attacking, instinctive rugby, like that produced by lively winger Mark Nawaqanitawase on Saturday.
Nawaqanitawase was Australia’s stand-out.
His quick tap and burst created the opportunity for Cooper and Kerevi to put Ikitau over after just four minutes, then his 95-metre intercept try gave the Wallabies what appeared a match-winning lead late on.
“Eddie wants us to be like that,” Kerevi said.
“He wants us to play the game fast. We just didn’t have enough moments in the game to hold onto the ball to do that, to connect with each other through phases and get into that deep-phase count.
“Once we get that ball, we can move it really well. The game we want to play is there. Just little things, like the breakdown, little errors, are not allowing us to fully play that.
“But the feeling is positive. We want to keep pushing the boundaries in our skill set. We’re not going to find out (the limits) if we just do it at training. We’ve got to do in Test matches as well.
“We’ve got to learn some hard lessons. There’s a big goal at the end of the year and we’re striving for that and we don’t want to leave any stone unturned. We want to play as hard as we can.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments