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Melbourne Rebels playmaker Matt Toomua isn’t beating around the bush – he wants to make the Wallabies No.10 jersey his own in 2020.
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Toomua says the best way to clinch the up-for-grabs Australian jumper is by leading the Rebels to a maiden Super Rugby finals berth.
Five-eighths Bernard Foley and Christian Lealiifano have left Australian rugby which leaves the door wide open for 52-Test Toomua who replaces another former Wallabies No.10, Quade Cooper, in Melbourne.
Toomua and Fijian international Frank Lomani have replaced Cooper and Wallabies centurion Will Genia in the halves and will start their season-opener against the Sunwolves on Saturday.
“A few (Wallabies) incumbents have gone so there’s definitely an opportunity there but in saying that there’s a lot of good 10s around the country,” Toomua told AAP.
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“There’s a lot of excitement in Australian rugby for a few reasons and that’s probably one of them.
“First, I’ve got to play well here at Rebels and keep the 10 here but you know I’m not that naive to think there’s not an opportunity there.
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“It’s obviously a goal of mine as I’m sure it is for the Brumbies 10 and Waratahs 10 and Reds 10, but I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a shot there.”
Lomani admits he needs to be more vocal after the Rebels were thrashed in a trial against the Brumbies last week and is looking to learn off Toomua.
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“I need to improve my game management and I need to be more aggressive with my leadership – I need to command and be bossy,” Lomani said.
“I like playing alongside Matt Toomua – he’s helped me a lot on running lines and I like how he’s so commanding.
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“We’ve got a fair idea on how the (Sunwolves) play. We’ll use our big ball carriers and we have some good players like (Toomua) who can control our game.”
Excellent initiative from the Warriors https://t.co/zsQG7vF87E
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 28, 2020
This year marks the first time the Rebels have the same captain, coach and CEO for consecutive seasons in the club’s history.
“Credit where it’s due, I think our recruiting team have done a really good job,” Toomua said.
“A lot of the other teams are probably feeling the exodus post World Cup a bit more than we are, we’ve got a fair bit of stability there, particularly with our coaches.”
– AAP
Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has made a surprise cross-code switch:
