The five youngsters that could help reinvigorate Dave Rennie's Wallabies
When Super Rugby returns to Australian shores this weekend, there are a number of up-and-coming players who could push for Wallabies honours by season’s end.
Darcy Swain
Lock, Brumbies
Darcy Swain, the Canberra Vikings captain, might just be the man to replace Izack Rodda in Dave Rennie’s Wallabies squad if he can continue to improve throughout Super Rugby AU.
The product of Brisbane Boys’ College moved to Canberra to chase Super Rugby honours, and soon got his chance. Swain made his debut against the Jaguares at 20-years-old and in the two years since, he’s become a regular member of the Brumbies matchday 23.
Standing at 200cm, Swain has proven himself a useful option at the lineout and holds his own around the park. His leadership, frame and set-piece skillset could prove useful for Dane Rennie and the Wallabies, and a solid 2020 could see him earn international selection.
Another Brisbane Boys’ College product, Trevor Hosea, is set to make his Super Rugby debut for the Rebels against Swain’s Brumbies this weekend. Standing at 203cm, the 2019 Junior Wallabies lock will be up against it when he comes off the bench, in what could prove to be a useful test for both players.
Byron Ralston
Utility back, Western Force
Bryan Ralston may be a relative unknown now but he does have the potential to set Super Rugby AU alight.
Ralston starred in high school rugby for Brisbane’s Gregory Terrace First XV in 2017, before moving onto club side Brothers in Queensland’s Premier Grade competition alongside Reds player Harry Wilson.
Ralston was the top try-scorer in the competition and capped off his club season with a try in the final at Ballymore. He’s continued his impressive try-scoring form at the national level, scoring seven tries to help the Force win their first National Rugby Championship title in emphatic fashion last year.
With strong ball carrying and a habit of scoring five-pointers, plenty of eyes will be on the utility as he gets his first taste of Super Rugby action over the coming weeks.
Andrew Kellaway
Outside back, Rebels
Kellaway broke records in the 2014 World Rugby Junior World Championships by scoring ten tries, which brought him plenty of expectation as he began to progress to different levels of rugby.
The Sydney-born wing has definitely impressed so far, carrying his JWC form into the National Rugby Championship with the NSW Country Eagles, and then Super Rugby with the Waratahs and now Rebels. He’s also spent time playing for Northampton in England and Counties Manukau in New Zealand.
Kellaway was on top of the Super Rugby try-scoring charts this year with seven in six matches before the season was suspended due to COVID. The 24-year-old donned Australian gold for the first time in 2016 when the Wallabies played the French Barbarians. If he can continue his impressive knack for finding the try line, Rennie could look to the Rebels outside back for more matches in gold.
Hunter Paisami
Centre, Reds
Hunter Paisami was impressive in his break out Super Rugby season earlier this year, replacing Jordan Petaia who went down with a shoulder injury while training in Argentina.
The 21-year-old’s brutal running style has seen him make the Reds 13 jersey his own, showing glimpses of the punishment Samu Kerevi used to inflict on tiring opposition.
Paisami showed promise in appearances off the bench against the Brumbies and Lions, before showing the rugby world what he was capable of against the Jaguares and Sunwolves. He ran for a team-high 78 metres from 13 carries against the 2019 runners up, before another impressive showing against the Sunwolves where he scored his first Reds try with a hard and sharp line from five metres out.
A knee injury shortly before the suspension of the Super Rugby season could have curtailed Paisami’s debut season but the lengthy break means he’s ample time to recover.
With Kerevi ineligible for the Wallabies, if Paisami can continue to develop and click with other Wallaby candidates, then there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be considered for the Wallabies in the future.
The Reds also have some of the best up-and-coming backrow talent in Australia, if not the globe. Captain Liam Wright will line up this weekend alongside 2019 U20s Wallabies captain Fraser McReight, and Wallaby-in-waiting Harry Wilson. All three players, as well as scrumhalf Tate McDermott, could certainly push for national honours depending on their Super Rugby AU form with the Reds.
Will Harrison
Flyhalf, Waratahs
Will Harrison starred for the Junior Wallabies in Argentina last year, guiding the team to an equal best-ever finish as runners up.
The flyhalf’s first match was against the three-time champions Crusaders, becoming the youngest player to debut in the 10 jumper in New South Wales’ history. He’s since had a tough introduction to Super Rugby, with the Waratahs winning one from six matches so far this year.
Still, Harrison has shown glimpses of what he can do, impressing Dane Rennie with his leadership and playmaking despite the poor team results. He revealed during the week that he’d spoken to the Wallabies head coach, so it’s now up to him to take that advice on board and secure his spot in Wallaby gold.
With Kurtley Beale heading to French club Racing 92, the Waratahs are now Harrison’s team, and all eyes will be on the 20-year-old to see if he falters or thrives.
Another Tahs player who could push for higher honours is 19-year-old winger Mark Nawaqanitawase. Another member of the Junior Wallabies side, he scored the second-fastest try in the history of the U20 penultimate match and carried that try-scoring ability into Super Rugby with four tries before the season suspension.
Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments