Twenty three players have been selected in matchday squads to potentially make their first appearance for their franchise this weekend in Round One of the 2016 Super Rugby competition, with Jermaine Ainsley, Tomas Cubelli, Ayumu Goromaru, Jamie Hagan, Reece Hodge, David Horwitz, Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, Semisi Masirewa, Ben Matwijow, Eto Nabuli, Reece Robinson and Henry Taefu in line for their first ever appearance in the competition.
Whether youngsters, code converts or experienced players fronting for new teams, it’s an exciting time with the Brumbies set to host the Highlanders tomorrow before two local derbies, back to back, on Saturday night.
There’s been plenty of season previews, expert tips and chat about the competition expanding to eighteen teams, but forgive us if eyes have glossed over a tad while reading some of these; we’re far more interested in what our members had to say as months of waiting finally comes to an end tomorrow, and are pleased to present the latest edition of Look Who’s Talking Now!
As is customary at this time of the year, most of the talking is done by those who’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt; or in this case worn the jersey! With so much pressure heading into Round One, we’ve gone international with a Wallaby edition of LWTN (with a special invitation extended for All Black Rebel Adam Thomson) – enjoy!
First stop this week is Canberra, where many pundits are predicting that the Super Rugby trophy will end up at the end of 2016. Many players (and their coaches!) like to play down the hype at this time of year, but Brumbies star Scott Fardy believes he and his teammates can handle the attention.
“We've had a pretty stable squad for the last few years and that's a credit to everyone for sticking around," Fardy told Chris Dutton of the Canberra Times. "But that doesn't matter when you get over that white line, you've just got to play well. It doesn't matter if you've been together for a long time or you've just arrived. You've got to perform, it's that simple.
"Every player is under the same amount of pressure. It's just how we react to that.
Queensland Reds prop Ben Daley saw his 2015 season cut short by injury, resulting in him also missing the NRC and any chance of a Wallabies recall for the Rugby World Cup. so it’s fair to say that he is excited about the competition beginning this weekend, as he told the Courier Mail’s Jim Tucker.
“It will be furious and physical and just what we all want to be part of after extremely competitive training and smashing each other. For me, it’s been great to have my first full pre-season of training in three or four years and get the (scrum) repetitions under my belt to get past any mental hurdles,” Daley said.
Another player returning from a season ruined by injury is Western Force skipper Matt Hodgson, with the 34 year old telling Perth Now’s Dale Granger that thoughts of retirement haven’t come across his mind at all.
“The main thing is that I am still enjoying it, even though I’ve been through some tough times with injury. But every time I’ve travelled I’ve enjoyed going out there and giving my all. A new lease on life with the captaincy added a few years to my career. It gave me more excitement and I enjoy seeing other people thrive. So that responsibility has helped keep me going.
“I don’t want to finish up or leave until (we have) a sense of accomplishment and I think we are pushing towards that in our rugby right now,” he said
Fellow evergreen forward Adam Thomson, a new signing at the Melbourne Rebels and the oldest player in their squad, knows his side will need to hit the ground running with a tough Super Rugby fixture in the opening rounds; four of its six opening matches are away from AAMI Park, with trips to Perth, Pretoria and Tokyo before its first bye.
“It is a hellish opening, isn’t it?” Thomson laughed when speaking with Herald Sun reporter Nick Smart. “I don’t think I have ever been involved in a team that has a tougher start than that. But I think that is an opportunity. We’ll get some tough games in early and if we can get a few wins, you’re off to a flying start.”
Thomson’s backrow teammate and this week’s Acting Captain for the Rebels, Sean McMahon, told Sam Worthington that the Club are primed for a first finals appearance in their history.
“This year we have recruited well, we’ve got a good group of core players who have now been here for a couple of years. The boys have trained hard though the pre-season, really laid a good base for the first game. If we continue to work hard and keep doing what we’re doing, I think we’ve definitely got an opportunity to have a crack at the finals.”
From current Rebels to former Rebels, and Nick Phipps believes Kurtley Beale is more than capable of stepping up as Waratahs’ flyhalf after Bernard Foley saw injury rule him out of the opening few matches.
“He would be fine,” Phipps told The Australian’s Bret Harris. “KB has played two trials at 10 and has a long history at 10 both at Super and Test level. He is more than capable of doing the job. We have played a lot of nine and 10 together… at the Rebels and played a whole year of Tests together.
“We know each other quite well. He provides a lot of voice around the place and lets you know what’s going on so you can play your natural game. It’s a chance for him to have a crack and we can use his talents.”
For what it’s worth, Beale agrees.
“I’m very comfortable playing in a No.10 jersey, I’ve been playing there throughout the whole pre-season so I’ve got a really good understanding of how Daryl wants to shape the team and how we want to play in the first couple of rounds,” Beale told the Daily Telegraph’s Jamie Pandaram.
Fellow playmaker Matt Toomua can’t wait to renew forces in attack with new teammate Aidan Toua, one of his best mates through high school and a former teammate, as he told David Polkinghorne in the Canberra Times.
"He used to come over a lot and I used to sometimes pick him up from school and if we didn't like English we might skip English, but I probably shouldn't say that - kids stay in school - but it was good fun," Toomua said. "We spent a lot of time together when we were younger. We used to cut each other's hair and dye each other's hair - all things that you really don't want to admit at the moment.
"We were just laughing about where life takes you. He's gone to France and back and I've stayed in Canberra for a while, but the journey it takes you - we're kind of rooming together. It's nice to have an old friend there."
Finally, to a remarkable milestone, as RUPA Player Director Stephen Moore plays his 150th Super Rugby game against the Hurricanes this weekend. He becomes just the second player in history, after Nathan Sharpe, to play 100 Tests for the Wallabies and reach 150 Super Rugby games.
A typically modest Moore looked to deflect his achievement when speaking with Chris Dutton.
"These things [milestones] are nice but they're of no real relevance to the game or the weekend," Moore said. "The focus is squarely on the team, our preparation and our performance on Friday. We've done a lot of hard work to get to here, it's an exciting time of year when the season starts.
"I've had a lot of really good coaches and teammates that have helped me to go that long. But until you probably hang the boots up, you don't reflect on that too much. This is the first game of the season so there's a lot to play for. The [150th game] is very much peripheral."
Social Supremo
There’s a sombre mood for this week’s Social Supremo, with Fijian/Australian Reds winger Chris Kuridrani posting a beautiful tribute to life on the islands in the aftermath of #CycloneWinston.
