Kerevi spotted as Schmidt prepares to name Wallabies squad
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is planning on naming a provisional squad of around 40 players on Thursday, as speculation soars as to which overseas-based, and overseas-bound, players will be included.
Schmidt’s group will then commence preparations for their one-off Test against Fiji on July. 6, before the Kiwi trims his group for the highly anticipated series with the British & Irish Lions.
Select players from the Western Force and NSW Waratahs have been training in Wallabies “hubs” since their Super Rugby Pacific seasons ended a fortnight ago, with Queensland Reds following suit on Monday after they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first week of the finals.
Players from the Brumbies, who were beaten in the semifinals by the Chiefs on the weekend, will complete their recoveries in Canberra and enjoy some time off before Schmidt brings the entire group together in Sydney on Sunday.
And it seems as though veteran centre Samu Kerevi could be among them, with the 31-year-old midfielder spotted as part of the Reds hub at Ballymore. Kerevi recently wound up his season in Japanese League 1 with Urayasu D-Rocks, the centre helping to ensure his team plays in the top division again in 2026 by scoring doubles in both legs of their “Replacement Battle” with Toyota Industries Shuttles.
Kerevi finished the League One season with 14 tries in 16 games, suggesting he still has something to offer the Wallabies despite his most recent Test appearance resulting in a red card for head contact when Australia thumped Wales in Cardiff last year.
There has been no sign of France-based Will Skelton as yet, with the Wallabies 2023 Rugby World Cup captain enjoying some down time after his Top 14 season came to an end just over a week ago.
Needing at least a losing bonus point in their final game of the regular season, Skelton’s La Rochelle were beaten 32-18 by Pau to round out a disappointing campaign for Ronan O’Gara’s former European champions.
The silver lining for Schmidt and the Wallabies however is that Skelton would not be subjected to as many as three further Top 14 games and would also be available to join Australia’s camp from the outset, if he is indeed part of the Kiwi’s plans.
That is not the case for returning Wallaby Pete Samu, whose Bordeau-Begles host Toulon in a Top 14 semifinal this weekend. Samu is looking to complete a rare Top 14-European double with Bordeaux, after the French outfit won the Champions Cup last month.
While Samu may be omitted from the group Schmidt names later this week, he could come into calculations for the combined AUNZ team that will face the Lions a week out from the first Test with the Wallabies.
The Adelaide fixture falls a fortnight after the Top 14 Final, so should Bordeaux advance to the final day of the French season Samu would have the ability to return to Australia and prepare for that clash.
The Waratahs-bound back-rower would help add some interest into a game that is fast losing its appeal, with confirmation that Richie Mo’unga had withdrawn himself from selection.
Mo’unga led his Toshiba Brave Lupus to back-to-back League One crowns in Japan, despite playing the decider with a broken hand. But news of the injury following his side’s victory over Kubota Spears had put his involvement in the AUNZ team in serious jeopardy.
Mo’unga’s withdrawal was confirmed by his manager on Monday, first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, with AUNZ coach Les Kiss and his Kiwi assistant Ian Foster now set to be without the playmaker whom this game had long pegged as its key drawcard.
Kiss and Schmidt have both recently indicated that players from the Wallabies broader squad would fill a significant number of the spots in the AUNZ squad, with New Zealand involvement potentially now being restricted to the likes of former All Blacks Shannon Frizell and TJ Perenara.
Just where departing players Noah Lolesio, Tom Hooper and Langi Gleeson wind up remains to be seen, although the form of the trio, and Schmidt’s comments for much of the year, suggest they will at least make this week’s squad.
Lolesio did however suffer a head knock in the Brumbies’ semifinal loss to the Chiefs at the weekend, but with the Test against Fiji three weeks away he would be cleared to play under concussion protocols, so long as there are no lingering effects from the hit.
Source: espn.com