'Weird environment': The silver lining from Ryan Lonergan's Rugby World Cup snub

ACT Brumbies stalwart Ryan Lonergan was one of eight uncapped players named in the Wallabies squad for the 2023 Rugby Championship, which was announced less than 80 days out from the team’s opening match at the Rugby World Cup.

Australia had parted ways with coach Dave Rennie earlier that year, with Eddie Jones coming into the setup ahead of the sport’s marquee event in September. The Wallabies started their new era with a defeat to the world champion Springboks, with some debutants getting their chance.

When another Wallabies squad was announced one month before the World Cup, Tate McDermott and Nic White were among the halfbacks chosen. But Jones sprung a surprise by overlooking Lonergan in favour of another potential debutant.

Isaak Fines-Leleiwasa played two matches during the pool stage, coming off the bench in Tests against Fiji and Portugal in Saint-Etienne. Australia won two of their four matches but missed out on the quarter-finals for the first time.

Lonergan has since taken over as Brumbies captain and was capped by the Wallabies during the Rugby Championship last season. But the scrum-half admits there is a sense of relief after not being included in the squad for that World Cup all those years ago.

“It was pretty tough. Not so much personally, it was more just for the group,” Lonergan told RugbyPass during Super Round in Christchurch.

“It was probably the weirdest environment I’ve been a part of. The environment here at Brums has always been so good and the environment in the Wallabies setup before that was really good with Rens and it sort of felt quite similar, and then that one was just odd.

“While it was disappointing to not be able to play at that World Cup, it was almost like a small amount of relief that I wasn’t there part of that setup because the feeling definitely wasn’t great.

“I’m just happy that it’s turned around, for me as well but also for the group. The group deserves the environment that we’ve got now and some consistency and some continuity in the coaching staff that are coming through.

“I probably learnt a lot out of that year without even realising it. I’ll just keep chipping away… I tend to ignore a lot of the stuff that goes out and I know what I need to work on, so I’ll just keep chipping away at that and see how we go.”

Wallabies great Matt Burke likened Lonergan to Irish halfback Jamison Gibson-Park last month, after the Brumbies skipper produced a standout performance in an important 14-10 win over the Highlanders at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.

That was Lonergan’s 100^th Super Rugby appearance, with the No. 9 touching down for a crucial score in the nail-biting round nine win. Lonergan has featured in nine matches so far this season, including the clash with the Hurricanes in Super Round.

Burke noted that Lonergan “has to be in contention” for higher honours again this year, after playing six matches for the national team in 2025. The 28-year-old finished last season with appearances against Japan, England, Italy and Ireland during the Spring Tour.

“I’ve always been able to block it out really. I don’t know if it’s because there was a whole lot of talk about me and the Wallabies a few years ago and it never really came to anything, and then I kind of just got sick of it really and just ignored it,” Lonergan explained.

“I try to stay off social media around the rugby stuff as much as I can because I know that it’s important to a lot of people but in terms of the inner group of the players, the stuff that comes out in the media is not always great.

“I know that it’s there and that it’s the goal individually for everyone playing in Australia is to represent the Wallabies but I kind of steer away from all the chat.”

When Lonergan spoke with RugbyPass in Christchurch, Super Rugby had taken over the city ahead of the opening match at One New Zealand Stadium that night. A sold-out crowd packed the stands for the Crusaders versus the NSW Waratahs, with the home side winning 35-20.

The Brumbies took the field the next day, losing to the high-flying Hurricanes. They have since been beaten by the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, and now sit in sixth place on the ladder with only four rounds remaining.

“We’ve struggled around the contestable catching in probably our most disappointing losses,” he reflected.

“Just our breakdown. If we want to be able to play our footy, we need to be able to have quick ball and be able to flow from breakdown to breakdown.

“They’ve probably been the two consistent points where we haven’t quite been where we need to be at but again, the teams are all so good in the comp that if you’re 10 per cent off, it makes you look like you’re terrible compared to the week before.

“We know we’re not that far off but we’ve just got to really nail those key points.”