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Sungoliath, Reds, Drua all options for Samu Kerevi as contract nears end

Samu Kerevi. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)

Samu Kerevi’s time in Japan could be coming to a close – but the Wallabies midfielder is adopting a ‘never say never’ attitude as his current contract with the Tokyo Sungoliath comes to an end.

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Kerevi joined the Sungoliath on a three-year contract following the 2019 Rugby World Cup after earning his stripes with the Reds in Super Rugby and didn’t feature for the Wallabies in 2020 but was recalled to the team by Dave Rennie last season and was one of the side’s top performers, even earning a nomination for World Rugby Player of the Year.

Rennie would undoubtedly love to have the 28-year-old back playing in Australia and alongside and helping to develop some Wallabies teammates in Super Rugby ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

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Dan Carter identifies the keys to success for the All Blacks at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

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Dan Carter identifies the keys to success for the All Blacks at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Instead, Kerevi has been rubbing shoulders with some of the top players in the world in Tokyo, playing alongside men such as All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie and against an array of foreign stars who now call Japan’s Rugby League One home.

While Kerevi has indicated that a return to Australia could absolutely be on the cards, he’s not necessarily done with Japan just yet.

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“I’m coming off-contract,” Kerevi confirmed this week. “[But] never want to close any doors.

“Right now, I’m really enjoying my footy here in Japan and with Suntory. They’ve been awesome … They’ve treated me really well and the boys have welcomed me. The type of the rugby we play is enticing. I’ve got to play with Beaudie and now DMac, All Blacks I would have never [had the chance to play with] back home.

“I think the opportunity to play back home will hopefully arise towards the back-end of my contract, which is the next couple of months. I never want to close any doors but at the same time, I’m really enjoying my footy at the moment and just trying to get better.”

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In Kerevi’s absence, Hunter Paisami has flourished at the Reds, whether at inside or outside centre, while a number of options from around the country have been trialled in the Wallabies midfield.

Such is Kerevi’s talent that he’d almost certainly walk straight back into a starting role wherever he headed in Australia but he indicated that even though Queensland has always been home for the 28-year-old, there are no guarantees it would be where he would end up.

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“It’s a hard thing to think about, playing outside of Queensland,” he said. “I don’t want to give away too much but I’ve thought about it. If that situation did arise, I don’t know.

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“[At] Queensland [it] would be hard to even be selected. They’ve got some amazing centres, young guys coming through. You’ve got Hunter, Jordie [Petaia] – who’s been playing centre and at fullback at the moment, Hamish Stewart’s been doing a great job at 12 there so it would be hard for me to get selected in certain teams.

“If that opportunity did arise for other teams, I’d definitely have a look at it. At the moment, I’m probably enjoying my time at Suntory too much to think that far forward. We’ve got finals coming up in the next couple of weeks, hopefully. Those conversations will happen with my management and Rugby Australia.”

Of course, the one Super Rugby team in Australia that didn’t exist when Kerevi left the nation’s shores back in 2019 is Fijian Drua. Unsurprisingly, their introduction to the competition has piqued the Fijian-born midfielder’s attention.

“It’s been awesome,” Kerevi said. “That’s probably another Super Rugby club I’d go to, to be honest, the Drua. They’re playing some outstanding football. So are Moana Pasifika. You saw the win against the Hurricanes, how much it meant to them. Even the Drua beating Melbourne and coming close to beating the Reds.

“It’s gonna just make Fiji rugby a lot better, bringing through some players from home and I think their game’s just gonna evolve. They’ve got that broken play and Fijian rugby flair, if they just put some structure around that I think they’d be a very dangerous team, the next couple of years.

“It’s about time they had those Pacific Islands come through the Super Rugby competition and it’s good for the competition and good for the islands.”

Kerevi has previously indicated that he harboured ambitions of one day playing for Fiji but after one again playing for Australia last year, it’s difficult to envisage a situation where he can play test rugby for the national side. Playing for the Drua, however, might scratch that same itch.

Kerevi’s Sungoliath currently sit atop the League One ladder with just a handful of rounds left to play before the finals series kicks off next month.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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