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Noah Lolesio making all the right moves in quest for Wallabies gold

Noah Lolesio. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

He can feel the hype but Brumbies young gun Noah Lolesio is doing his best to stay cool after emerging as genuine contender for the Wallabies’ No.10 jumper.

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Man of the match in the Brumbies’ 31-23 Super Rugby AU win over Melbourne Rebels on Saturday night, Lolesio is firmly in Dave Rennie’s sights after earning a spot in the new national coach’s “player of national interest” squad.

“I don’t want to think about it too much but it’s pretty unreal to cop a call from the Wallabies coach,” Lolesio told AAP.

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Brumbies coach Dan McKellar and skipper Allan Alaalatoa – post-match Super Rugby AU Round One

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Brumbies coach Dan McKellar and skipper Allan Alaalatoa – post-match Super Rugby AU Round One

“I’ve had a good couple of chats with Dave Rennie. He’s really impressed and he’s loved the fact that younger guys are pushing for spots against the older guys.

“He just said keep performing well this season and hopefully I can get a spot in the squad.”

With veterans Bernard Foley and Christian Lealiifano opting to head overseas, 52-Test star Matt Toomua is the frontrunner for Australia’s vacant No.10 jumper.

But with a penchant for pinning his faith in youth, Rennie is keen not only on 20-year-old Lolesio but also NSW Waratahs fly-half Will Harrison, a fellow member of the Junior Wallabies side that lost the 2019 under-20s world cup.

“You can’t really ignore the noise. I just acknowledge it but I don’t read into it too much,” Lolesio said.

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“It’s there but my focus is always the Brumbies and always will be my No.1 priority.

“It’s awesome getting the acknowledgement but it can go in a second so I’m just keeping my feet grounded.”

Lolesio outpointed Toomua at the weekend, making a series of clean breaks and also landing some clutch conversions at GIO Stadium.

“I’m just doing my job for the team. I don’t think I overplayed my hand too much,” he said.

“There’s still bits and pieces I can still improve in with game management but, overall, I thought I did my job well for the team and that’s all I can ask for.”

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– Darren Walton

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AM 37 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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