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'Next stop London' - Aussie Super Rugby player drops major hint over future
By Josh Raisey
Former Melbourne Rebels centre Billy Meakes has dropped a hint that the next destination in his career could be in England.
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The 29-year-old’s contract with the Rebels expired this year, and he has recently been linked with London Irish following a spate of injuries at the club as they prepare for the new Gallagher Premiership season set to begin in November.
Midfielders Matt Williams and Terrence Hepetema will be missing for the start of London Irish’s new era at the Brentford Community Stadium after sustaining injuries in September.
Hepetema could return by December from a broken wrist, but Williams’ anterior cruciate injury will leave him sidelined for much longer. Elsewhere in the backline, Waisake Naholo is recovering from knee surgery.
Amid this crisis, Meakes shared this message on Instagram from Melbourne Airport on Monday:
“Whirlwind few days… It’s so hard saying goodbye to the ones you love, but sometimes opportunities arise that you can’t turn down. So grateful to play rugby the sport I love and for what it provides me.
“Next stop ~ London.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGyw0vdgGrc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
On top of that, Meakes’ former Western Force teammate and current member of London Irish Curtis Rona responded “see you soon”, which is certainly one way to let the cat out of the bag if the Exiles were waiting to make this announcement.
The centre enjoyed a two-year spell between 2014 and 2016 with Gloucester at the beginning of his career, where he became a fan favourite at Kingsholm. He moved back to Australia in 2016 to join the Western Force, but has continued to develop over the last three years in Melbourne.
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Despite being in and out of various Wallabies squad, Meakes has never actually been capped, but has already proven himself in England and has the well-rounded game in the No12 shirt to be a success at London Irish, should that be his destination.
