Crusaders flanker 'blocked' from playing for Wallabies against Ireland

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has revealed that he wanted to pick Crusaders loose forward Pete Samu for the Wallabies upcoming test series against Ireland but was unable to.

“I’ve been told at this point I can’t select him but there is a spot for him there,” Cheika said.

“At this point it’s sort of in others hands.

“I’m not really involved in that part of it but I’m hoping there’ll be some more clarity about that tomorrow (Thursday).

The 26-year-old this week announced he had signed a two-year deal with the Brumbies from 2019, turning his back on the Crusaders and New Zealand Rugby to potentially chase a Wallabies jersey. The situation faced by Samu has similar parallels to Brad Shields’ bid to play for England despite being contracted the Hurricanes and NZR.

It is believed talks are ongoing between Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby regarding Samu’s availability.

“You’ve got to talk to whoever the governing bodies are around it.

“We were keen to pick him in the squad but for certain reasons I wasn’t able to.

“We’ll have to leave it at that for the moment but we’ll see where it ends up.

“There’s some things that are out of my hands at the moment but I’m hoping they will come into my hands by tomorrow.”

Under World Rugby’s rules, unions can deny release requests for those with dual eligibility. Samu, is eligible for both Australia and New Zealand.

“We have received a request from Rugby Australia and we’re in discussions, but nothing has been decided yet,” said Chris Lendrum, NZR’s head of professional rugby.

Samu’s inclusion would boost Australia’s depth in the back row, with only five named in Cheika’s squad for Ireland – Michael Hooper, David Pocock, Caleb Timu, Lukhan Tui and Ned Hanigan.

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