'No one has nailed down the position': Wallaby eager to prove himself
This year’s Rugby World Cup in France is still eight months away, but the Wallabies have already begun to prepare for what promises to be the most competitive tournament yet.
The first Australian squad of the year was named last week, ahead of a four-day training camp on the Gold Coast.
More than 50 Wallabies donned the coveted gold jersey throughout an injury-ravaged campaign last year, but only 44-players were selected for the camp.
Coach Dave Rennie will have to make some more tough decisions later this year, as he’s only able to select 33-players for the sports premier event.
Clearly, the competition for places is set to heat up during the upcoming Super Rugby campaign.
Childhood dreams are within reach for many of Australia’s best rugby stars, but it’s up to them to make their mark domestically and prove themselves once more.
Utility back Jock Campbell was one of Australia’s many debutants in 2022, and the 27-year-old has the potential to become one of the finds of the year moving forward.
The Wallabies longed for a genuine fullback for much of last season, following a shocking injury to Brumbies star Tom Banks in the first test of the year.
After making his debut against Scotland at Murrayfield, Campbell started tests against France and Italy.
But as he told reporters on the Gold Coast this week, nobody can afford to rest “on their laurels” with the World Cup just around the corner.
“I feel like no one has nailed down the position but there are a lot of guys that are capable,” Campbell said.
“I feel like we have a lot of depth in that position and even on the wing. We saw a lot of guys perform well over the Spring Tour like Marky (Nawaqanitawase) with a couple of awesome performances.
“There’s a lot of depth in the outside backs… I’m confident in my own ability to get out there but so is everyone I’m sure, and I think that’s only a positive.
“That competition creates depth and makes everyone play better. If you only have one or two guys, everyone rests on their laurels which I don’t think you can do in this team at the moment.”
From an individual point of view, Super Rugby has never been so important for some rugby stars who call Down Under home.
After playing for his High School’s 2nd XV, but clearly he never gave up on his rugby dream.
The fullback has been a regular of the Queensland Reds’ matchday squads for quite a few years now, and is expected to play a key role in their campaign once again this season.
But the Reds will have to chase Super Rugby glory without one of their biggest stars.
Prop Taniela Tupou, also known as The Tongan Thor, suffered an injury during Australia’s end-of-season tour.
But as Campbell discussed, it’s a great opportunity for Bond University prop Zane Nonggorr to truly announce himself at Super Rugby level.
“You can’t replace Taniela, he’s one of a kind and has been so good for so many years but we have some good young props,” he added.
“I know Zane (Nonggorr) was injured for a lot of last year but I know he’ll surprise people with how good he is. He’s young, but he’s been with us for a while so I think he’ll surprise people.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments