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'There's not much longer left for me': Wallabies star's shock admission

By AAP
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Wallabies winger Andrew Kellaway concedes he was a “passenger” while playing at the NSW Waratahs and he already feels like the time is ticking on his career.

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Kellaway was named Rugby Australia’s 2021 rookie of the year on Friday after a dream debut Wallabies campaign in which he scored nine tries in 13 tests.

The 26-year-old was considered a bolter in Dave Rennie’s 38-man squad for the three-test series in France last year, after only having just returned to the Melbourne Rebels from a stint in Japan.

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But it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a regular in the test side and build a reputation as a try-scoring machine.

Kellaway felt coming into the Wallabies’ set-up as a 25-year-old meant he had the tools he needed to succeed.

“If I was thrust in at 21, in hindsight I probably was thrust into the Waratahs team that was absolutely stacked with Wallabies (at that age), so one could argue it was not too far off,” Kellaway said.

“I look back and I look at the performances and how involved I was in those (Waratahs) games, and I was a bit of a passenger. I was happy to be there rather than happy to compete.

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“I look now, and the clock is ticking. There’s not much longer left for me.

“I might be getting rookie of the year, but I’m still 26 going on 27.

“In terms of your rugby timeline, that’s definitely ticking for me.”

Kellaway said being a Wallabies bolter last year meant there was not much pressure on him to perform.

“I was quite lucky in a sense that I didn’t have anything to lose,” he said.

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“As Dave (Rennie) said, I wasn’t in the plans or any of that.

“Being called in was good enough at that point. Expectation was slim to none.

“They’re always good circumstances to try to perform when nobody expects anything of you, and you’ve got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder and trying to prove people wrong.”

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Kellaway’s full attention is now back on the Rebels and helping them crack through for a finals berth in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season.

“If we’re honest, (we’re) probably serial underachievers,” Kellaway said.

“We’ve had, at least from where I see it, a pretty decent roster for the last four years and haven’t quite been able to crack the consistency we need to play finals footy.”

The Rebels’ campaign begins against the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium on February 19.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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