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What rookie Tom Lynagh makes of getting 'targeted quite a lot'
By AAP
Tom Lynagh has been a target in defence in his short rugby union career, but it is an area the Queensland Reds playmaker is ready to tackle head-on as he seeks out further Wallabies duties. The son of the legendary Michael Lynagh has four Test caps to his credit but missed out on the recent Autumn Nations Series.
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The massive carrot dangling in 2025 is the British and Irish Lions tour and the 21-year-old is set to attend the first Wallabies camp of the year in Sydney. “Everyone in Australia that plays rugby is trying to head towards that and aim for it,” he said of the Lions tour.
“But I want to take care of the Super Rugby season first, that is my priority this year at the moment. I’ll look after that first and hopefully the rest will follow.
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“A thing I wanted to do last year (was) get involved with the November tour and travel around the UK and play in different spots. But in the end, I managed to go on a Reds tour and then join up with Australia A afterwards and got some good minutes in three games.
“I’m pretty happy I ended up doing that, and taking everything I learnt from the Wallaby camps into actual games.”
Not the biggest No10, Lynagh is ready to step up in the cauldron and embrace the physical challenge that will no doubt come his way. “I felt pretty good last year, I got targeted quite a lot and that happens when you are a little 10,” he said.
“You expect that stuff and you can’t shy away from it – it’s part of the game, so you have to step up and do your job.
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James O’Connor’s move to Crusaders and Lawson Creighton’s shift to the Waratahs has left Lynagh in the box seat to wear the No10 this year for Queensland, but emerging talent Harry McLaughlin-Phillips impressed in his few opportunities last season and Shute Shield recruit Jude Gibbs will keep him honest.
“Harry and I both work really well together. He is a great guy and he has got a lot to offer as well, and I learnt quite a bit from him,” Lynagh said. “He is always talking in meetings and suggesting ideas and we sort of bounce off each other which is really good.”
Lynagh knows that to get more Wallabies caps he must take his game to another level in all facets. “Kicking has been a big part of my game and they still want me to work on that and all kinds of areas, whether it is attacking kicking or just clearing… and goal kicking especially was one of my poor parts in the Super Rugby season I thought.
“That is always a continuous work on for me, but playing at the line and making the right decisions is a big work on. I feel a lot more confident and comfortable doing that.”
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