A sad day for Australian running rugby fans as potential starting wallaby fullback Mark Gerrard was granted a release from the brumbies to join a Japanese club next season.
Gerrard has earned 79 Super rugby caps and is third on the Brumbies list of all-time point scorers.
When this news was released Gerrard said – “I definitely wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning to play in Australia and pulling on the Brumbies strip again.”
From my hoping speculation this will only be a year contract to Japan and then back to Australia for a crack at another world cup (he only lasted 1 minute last world cup).
My thoughts are also that he signed knowing he is not going to get a wallaby spot this year.
Here’s an interesting article about picking a wallaby team on statistics and further pushing the argument that Gerrard should be there. CLICK HERE!
Here are a few clips of Gerrard in action. There have been many other spectacular moments that I haven’t yet found though.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2601 https://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/?p=2601">11 Comments
The only full-back we have who has any tactical nous at all when it comes to kicking and he’s off to play 2nd division Japanese rugby. That’s got to be about the same standard as 3rd division subbies.
Crying shame that…
All reports suggest that he wasn’t going for the money and would have stuck around if he was going to make it back into the Wallabies. If so, then either the ARU are not communicating to the players they want, or else they don’t want him. Either alternative makes the ARU look pretty dumb to lose the best FB in the S14.
i think its a disgrace that we’re letting our top players go so easily.
If the ARU and SANZAR want to improve the standard of play then they should be doing everything they can to keep the top players in the competition.
huge loss for the brumbies and Australian rugby
deans really should have taken in last year
F**ken hell.
He should have at least gone to Europe!
Absolute fucken madness from all perspectives. I totally agree with all points made above.
Even with 2 weeks out through injury and a bye, until this weekend the guy was the 4th highest points scorer in the whole freakin S14. That’s ahead of the fabled Gits as well.
It seems the guy just doesn’t realise his own value. Maybe getting overlooked last year really knocked him?
For fucks sake he’s only 26 and he’s off to the land of the rugby knackers yard.
It must be about the money, because he was a shoe-in to be picked.
Rubbish.
He’s been a shoe-in before and NOT been picked.
I think he would have been overlooked again for some ring in. I think that’s what he thought too.
I agree. He obviously got the word…
He was overlooked last season even after Shepherd got injured.
I think he has just got fed up with taking crap from the ARU and the Brumbies obviously sympathised and agreed to release him.
Th ARU can’t do much about players who chase the money, but losing players like this who would prefer to stay is a disgrace.
Shepherd is gay, Mitchell and AAC aren’t even fullbacks and O’Connor will eventually be wasted in fullback.
You need someone’s whose strength is their kicking game and their ability to come into the line and make a play. Not a playmaker.
If larkham played his entire career in fullback, sure he would have been good, but in 10 he wasn’t wasted.