Two Brumbies flyhalves preparing for last Wallabies' push

Tane Edmed candidly concedes he’s had a frustrating season, but he isn’t giving up hope of retaining his Wallabies jersey.

Edmed moved to Canberra ahead of the Super Rugby Pacific season, riding high from featuring as one of Joe Schmidt’s Test fly-halves in 2025, but he hasn’t enjoyed the playing minutes he would have hoped for.

Instead, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has opted to keep Wallabies hopeful Declan Meredith primarily in the No.10 jersey, with Edmed making his mark off the bench in the majority of matches.

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Regardless, Edmed feels he’s grown his ability to make the final minutes count, although it hasn’t come without its mental challenges.

“It’s definitely been a little bit frustrating around my minutes and opportunities, but I’m just trying to execute my role as well as I can for the team,” he told AAP.

“It’s been a little bit of a mixed bag, but it’s always a challenge, and it’s uncomfortable, but that’s where you want to be as a player.

“It’s taught me to try to adapt and expand my game in other areas, and it’s made training that much more important for me to try and get better.”

Edmed has had a few conversations with Schmidt over the season, and he feels that producing a strong performance against the table-topping Hurricanes in the Brumbies’ do-or-die qualifying final on Friday will be important to boost his hopes of Wallabies squad berth as the Test season looms next month.

“It’s been a pretty roller-coaster few years for myself … Last year, I was in and out of the Waratahs team, and then found myself in the Wallabies, and this year probably hasn’t gone exactly how I wanted to,” he said.

“If I get the opportunity to be in the Wallabies squad again … I feel like I’ll be much more equipped than I was before to handle those situations.

“In finals, the pressure comes on, so those experiences, and those stints that I have off the bench are going to help.”

Fellow fly-half Meredith hasn’t escaped Wallabies selection speculation, though, especially after Schmidt praised his control and decison-making in March.

The 26-year-old admits the added Wallabies expectation did affect him mentally after a strong start to the Super Rugby season.

It culminated in a poor kicking performance that contributed to a 45-12 thumping by the Hurricanes in Super Round, which he conceded was a “low point”.

But Meredith feels he’s overcome his mid-campaign slump, and is ready to help the Brumbies snap a 12-year losing streak against the Hurricanes away in Wellington.

“It definitely plays on your mind sometimes… Not hearing your name ever get brought up in that aspect (previously) is different,” Meredith told AAP.

“So, for me, at the start, it threw me off, but the people around me helped me get me through that, and just told me to park it, and I’ve taken that advice on board.

“The mental side of the game has been the part where I’ve learned the most this year.

“We’ve had a good run against the Kiwi teams (this season). We get up for those big challenges and you can’t not get up for a finals series against the Hurricanes.”