'You belong here': The 20-year-old Super Rugby rookie who could be the answer to Australia's lock crisis
With all four Wallabies locks from last year’s Rugby World Cup set to be playing their club rugby overseas as of 2021, the depth of the position has been questioned constantly throughout Super Rugby AU.
But national coach Dave Rennie may have found himself an answer.
Standing at 203cm and by playing the game at a level simply beyond his years, Rebels lock Trevor Hosea can bring some much-needed youth to help reinvigorate the Wallabies second row.
Hosea have become a staple of the Rebels match day side since making his debut off the bench in the opening round of Super Rugby AU against the Brumbies. He has a tackle accuracy of 93 percent and has already become a leader for the Rebels at the set piece.
The 20-year-old was recently rewarded for his form throughout his breakout rookie campaign, named in Rennie’s players of national interest (PONI) list last month. Hosea said that it was a proud moment for both him and his family, but admitted that he wants to improve his work rate and lineout timing as he looks to officially take that next step.
“Just having eyes on me, it’s a big achievement for me getting selected in the PONI squad but there’s obviously heaps of work to do,” Hosea told RugbyPass.
“I’ve just got to keep working hard because I know there are eyes on me. I’ve just got to show what I’ve got.
“It would mean the world to me [to play for the Wallabies], it was a dream growing up. I’ve been working hard this year, been working hard the last few years to try and get a game under my belt and it’s all working out so far.”
Even though he was born in AFL-mad Victoria, Hosea always had eyes for the 15-man code. He said that he’s been “drawn to rugby” because of his father, having first played the sport at six-years old.
But Hosea made a big decision in 2016 which showed just how serious he was about rugby.
The up-and-comer decided to move out of home and board at the prestigious Brisbane GPS school, Brisbane Boys’ College, for his last two years of high school. Hosea felt that at the time, it was a move that he needed to make in pursuit of his rugby dream.
“The pathways down in Melbourne were still growing and they’re getting better and better each year, but definitely the way I saw it was that it was a great opportunity to get up there and play some of the best schoolboy footy that there is to offer.
“It was definitely a big step for me going up to Brisbane, a big decision for my family, but I reckon it really paid off.”
But the need to move to a more rugby dominated state brings with it an underdog mentality that Hosea and a few of the other Rebels players have adopted.
The ‘Burn Boyz’ are the small group of Victorian-born players in the squad who have paved the way for the next generation of the states rugby talent to play at that level. Hosea, other PONI selections in Pone Fa’amausili and Jordan Uelese, as well as Rob Leota, make up the small group of players inspiring the next wave of Victorian talent.
As he discussed, it’s a mantle that Hosea and his teammates take pride in representing every time they take the field.
“I’ve always been an underdog and that’s probably what us boys are about, and I guess the mentality has come from that. It’s just trying to put on for the State, for our city, and make something of ourselves and just show everyone that there is an opportunity there.
“I guess it is a responsibility seeing that in a sense, we are role models. Just to be a role model and to show younger players that there is an opportunity and just to keep chasing the dream.”
Hosea made his Super debut in July, three years after he signed a development contract with the Rebels.
He came off the bench in the second half against the Brumbies, but felt that the support of his teammates, including some invaluable words from Wallaby Reece Hodge, helped him ease into Super Rugby.
Ex-All Blacks boss Steve Hansen has revealed the best athlete he ever coached in his illustrious rugby career spanning 24 years.https://t.co/kXXGY8NBHc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 4, 2020
“When it came to game time, I had a few butterflies in the stomach but I just thought to myself, ‘just do your thing, do your role, do you and you and you’ll be sweet.’
“Coming onto the field, I had a few of the boys come around me as soon as I got on.
“One of the big things for me was when Reece Hodge came up to me after one of our tries and said, ‘You belong here bro.’ That was a real boost for me and it got me up and kept me up; was really comfortable on the field.”
Now seven games into his career, Hosea is just one of many of last year’s Junior Wallabies to have graduated from that level and into Super Rugby – and to have truly made the most of their opportunities.
The second rower started in last year’s one-point Junior World Cup final loss to France, alongside a number of fellow PONI selections in Fraser McReight, Noah Lolesio, Harry Wilson and more.
But with the under-20s side recording a best ever finish at a Junior World Cup, Hosea is taking plenty of positives out of his time with the side as he looks to help usher in what may just be a golden generation of Australian rugby talent.
“There’s a lot of young fellas coming through and I just think it’s that hunger that’s been shown throughout the comp, the hunger to want to represent at higher honours. That’s a real drive for us young fellas coming through and we see the opportunity at the end, it’s there to take, so we’re all fighting for a spot.
“I think it was one of the best performances from an under-20s team in a while. A lot of us young fellas coming through took a lot of confidence out of that World Cup, and it just shows how much it meant to us and how much we’re willing to work to get to that next level.”
Much like their opponents this weekend, the Rebels have been on the road throughout their entire Super Rugby AU campaign. With Victoria having been in lockdown since July, Hosea and his side will be out to “lift the spirits” of their fans with what would be a historic victory on Saturday.
The Rebels face the Force in the final round of Super Rugby AU, where they can secure a maiden playoff berth with a victory by four or more points.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t enjoy drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments