Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Wallaby departure opens the door for former Northampton Saint to shine

Northhampton's Andrew Kellaway prepares to take on the Wasps' Lima Sopoaga. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

While sad to see Jack Maddocks leave Melbourne, new recruit Andrew Kellaway knows it could also help him break into the Rebels Super Rugby starting side.

ADVERTISEMENT

Maddocks departed the Rebels earlier this month to join the Waratahs, citing a personal desire to shift home.

Kellaway was disappointed to lose his former schoolmate without playing a game together, even if it could work in his favour.

“Jack’s a huge loss, he’s a very talented player,” Kellaway said on Tuesday.

“There’s lots of depth in the outside backs but it does make life a little easier for people like me trying to break in there.”

Continue reading below…

Video Spacer

Standing in his way are current Test players Marika Koroibete, Dane Haylett-Petty and Reece Hodge while Billy Meakes, Tom English and Campbell Magnay are among the other contenders for starting positions.

A stand-out of the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign, Koroibete in particular has impressed Kellaway.

“He’s a freak,” Kellaway said.

“He’s very fast, very strong, he gets on with his work and doesn’t say much.

“He’s awesome – a great guy to play with and a great guy to hang around and he’s teaching me some Fijian which is pretty nice.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Kellaway has also been soaking up the knowledge of Rebels skipper Haylett-Petty, whose career followed a similar path with an early stint in Super Rugby and then a stint overseas before returning to Australia.

“He’s a quality player for me to be able to sit there and pick his brain and watch what he does, probably more off the field than anything, that’s pretty cool,” Kellaway said.

Spending the past 12 months playing in the UK with Northampton and Counties Manukau in New Zealand, Kellaway returned to Australia with the ultimate goal of a Wallabies berth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7E9b-FgO9x/

ADVERTISEMENT

The 24-year-old, who had 25 Super Rugby matches with the Waratahs between 2015 and 2018, hoped his versatility would be an advantage as well as his oversea experience.

“I can fit into multiple spots and that’s a valuable asset for the team,” he said.

“It’s not something you want to do all the time but if it’s beneficial for the team than that’s the way it’s got to be.

“I feel like I’m in the best place I’ve been for a while with my rugby and I probably wouldn’t be there if not for my experiences.”

– AAP

Meanwhile, over at the Waratahs, new coach Rob Penney is excited to have Jack Maddocks on board:

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

F
Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit
Search