Sungoliath, Reds, Drua all options for Samu Kerevi as contract nears end
Samu Kerevi’s time in Japan could be coming to a close – but the Wallabies midfielder is adopting a ‘never say never’ attitude as his current contract with the Tokyo Sungoliath comes to an end.
Kerevi joined the Sungoliath on a three-year contract following the 2019 Rugby World Cup after earning his stripes with the Reds in Super Rugby and didn’t feature for the Wallabies in 2020 but was recalled to the team by Dave Rennie last season and was one of the side’s top performers, even earning a nomination for World Rugby Player of the Year.
Rennie would undoubtedly love to have the 28-year-old back playing in Australia and alongside and helping to develop some Wallabies teammates in Super Rugby ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
Instead, Kerevi has been rubbing shoulders with some of the top players in the world in Tokyo, playing alongside men such as All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie and against an array of foreign stars who now call Japan’s Rugby League One home.
While Kerevi has indicated that a return to Australia could absolutely be on the cards, he’s not necessarily done with Japan just yet.
“I’m coming off-contract,” Kerevi confirmed this week. “[But] never want to close any doors.
“Right now, I’m really enjoying my footy here in Japan and with Suntory. They’ve been awesome … They’ve treated me really well and the boys have welcomed me. The type of the rugby we play is enticing. I’ve got to play with Beaudie and now DMac, All Blacks I would have never [had the chance to play with] back home.
“I think the opportunity to play back home will hopefully arise towards the back-end of my contract, which is the next couple of months. I never want to close any doors but at the same time, I’m really enjoying my footy at the moment and just trying to get better.”
In Kerevi’s absence, Hunter Paisami has flourished at the Reds, whether at inside or outside centre, while a number of options from around the country have been trialled in the Wallabies midfield.
Such is Kerevi’s talent that he’d almost certainly walk straight back into a starting role wherever he headed in Australia but he indicated that even though Queensland has always been home for the 28-year-old, there are no guarantees it would be where he would end up.
“It’s a hard thing to think about, playing outside of Queensland,” he said. “I don’t want to give away too much but I’ve thought about it. If that situation did arise, I don’t know.
“[At] Queensland [it] would be hard to even be selected. They’ve got some amazing centres, young guys coming through. You’ve got Hunter, Jordie [Petaia] – who’s been playing centre and at fullback at the moment, Hamish Stewart’s been doing a great job at 12 there so it would be hard for me to get selected in certain teams.
“If that opportunity did arise for other teams, I’d definitely have a look at it. At the moment, I’m probably enjoying my time at Suntory too much to think that far forward. We’ve got finals coming up in the next couple of weeks, hopefully. Those conversations will happen with my management and Rugby Australia.”
Of course, the one Super Rugby team in Australia that didn’t exist when Kerevi left the nation’s shores back in 2019 is Fijian Drua. Unsurprisingly, their introduction to the competition has piqued the Fijian-born midfielder’s attention.
“It’s been awesome,” Kerevi said. “That’s probably another Super Rugby club I’d go to, to be honest, the Drua. They’re playing some outstanding football. So are Moana Pasifika. You saw the win against the Hurricanes, how much it meant to them. Even the Drua beating Melbourne and coming close to beating the Reds.
“It’s gonna just make Fiji rugby a lot better, bringing through some players from home and I think their game’s just gonna evolve. They’ve got that broken play and Fijian rugby flair, if they just put some structure around that I think they’d be a very dangerous team, the next couple of years.
“It’s about time they had those Pacific Islands come through the Super Rugby competition and it’s good for the competition and good for the islands.”
Kerevi has previously indicated that he harboured ambitions of one day playing for Fiji but after one again playing for Australia last year, it’s difficult to envisage a situation where he can play test rugby for the national side. Playing for the Drua, however, might scratch that same itch.
Kerevi’s Sungoliath currently sit atop the League One ladder with just a handful of rounds left to play before the finals series kicks off next month.
Comments on RugbyPass
Havili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to comments