New Zealand's unluckiest player lands Super Rugby gig in Australian capital

James Tucker was earmarked for great things when he left high school.

The St Bede’s College alumnus headed north to Hamilton and earned selection in the New Zealand Under 20s side before being signed by Waikato for that year’s provincial competition.

Tucker, however, wasn’t able to take the field for the Mooloos, thanks to a slew of injuries. In fact, despite being in or around the side for the past seven seasons, Tucker has amassed just 42 games for Waikato.

Despite his lack of provincial minutes, Tucker still managed to earn selection for the Chiefs in 2016 and 2017 but accumulated just five appearances.

A montage of our craziest year in memory.

A montage of our craziest year in memory.

Strong seasons for Waikato in 2017 and 2018 weren’t enough for Tucker to retain his spot with the Chiefs, however, and the big lock headed to Italy in the provincial off-season to continue his rugby development.

Following Waikato’s return to the premiership division of the Mitre 10 Cup in 2019, Tucker was picked up by the Blues for Super Rugby 2020 but a knee injury suffered in the pre-season prevented him from taking the field. It also curtailed his provincial season, and Tucker will now enter 2021 without any professional rugby under his belt for a whole year.

Tucker’s luck may be about to turn, however, with the Brumbies today announcing that the Australian-born 26-year-old has signed with the Super Rugby AU champions for the year ahead.

Tucker joins the team as a replacement for Murray Douglas and Blake Enever, who have both headed offshore following the 2020 season, and is one of three players in the side recruited from outside the region, alongside outside back Reece Tapine and tighthead prop Archer Holz. Five academy players have also been promoted in the top team.

14 members of the 2021 squad spent time with the Wallabies during this year’s Tri-Nations tournament, with 11 of those men pulling on the gold jersey at some stage during the competition, including debutants Noah Lolesio, Irae Simone and Tom Wright.

On the other end of the experience spectrum, 19 of the 2021 group are 23-years-old or younger.

“We’re excited about the makeup of our squad for next season,” said head coach Dan McKellar.

“With the age profile of the group, the number of Wallabies we had this year and the fact that the majority of the guys are returning from last season, we’re in a good place to give ourselves a chance to compete again next year.

“The exciting thing for the coaching staff and I is that after a good season last year, there is still a lot of improving we can do, both for the boys individually but as a collective as well.

“We’re proud of what we achieved last season, particularly through the adversity we faced but we have to look forward now, and with this group, our only goal is to just get better and better every day.”

The Brumbies kick off their season in the opening week of Super Rugby AU with a match against the Western Force on February 20. The game marks the Force’s first home match played in Perth since March 2020.

2021 Brumbies squad:

Hookers
Folau Fainga’a
Lachlan Lonergan
Connal McInerney
Billy Pollard

Props
Allan Alaalatoa
Archer Holz
Harry Lloyd
Tom Ross
Scott Sio
James Slipper

Locks
Tom Hooper
Nick Frost
Caderyn Neville
Darcy Swain
James Tucker

Backrows
Jahrome Brown
Tom Cusack
Luke Reimer
Pete Samu
Rory Scott
Rob Valetini

Scrumhalf
Lachie Albert
Issak Fines
Ryan Lonergan
Nic White

Flyhalf
Bayley Kuenzle
Noah Lolesio
Reesjan Pasitoa

Midfield/Outside backs
Tom Banks
Mack Hansen
Len Ikitau
Solomone Kata
Andy Muirhead
Irae Simone
Reece Tapine
Tom Wright