Thursday’s rugby news has a big Reds addition, the Rebels re-signing Naivalu, a new Aus 20s captain and criticism for England’s exclusion policy.
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Neville heading to Reds
The Queensland Reds have locked up a replacement for the departing James Horwill by signing Rebels lock Cadeyrn Neville. The 26-year-old has made 44 Super Rugby appearances since making his debut in 2012, and will fill the gap left by former Wallaby skipper Horwill, who is off to Harlequins at the end of the season.
“I have had my eye on Cadeyrn for a number of seasons back as far as 2011 when he was reasonably new to his rugby career,” said Graham. While the 2m tall, 120kg Neville has twice been included in Wallabies squads without making his Test debut, he has found game time hard to come by this season behind in-form second row duo Luke Jones and Lopeti Timani.
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Naivalu stays with Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels have re-signed exciting wing prospect Sefanaia Naivalu through to the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season. Naivalu was the first player signed by the Rebels from Melbourne’s local club competition the Dewar Shield and has appeared in each of their nine matches this year.
Coach Tony McGahan said he had high hopes for the Fijian-born winger. “We’ve got some guys in the squad who’ve played representative football. And we certainly think if Sefa continues to show what he’s done and his appetite for learning and getting better continues, I don’t think there are any limits on what he can do.”
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Kellaway to lead 20s
NSW Waratahs’ Gen Blue star Andrew Kellaway has been named Captain of the Australian U20’s side for the Oceania Rugby Junior Championship. The competition will act as preparation for the World Championships in June, kicking off on the Gold Coast this Friday 1 May.
Kellaway is returning from starring in last year’s World Rugby U20 Championship, breaking the tournament try-scoring record set by current All Black, Julian Savea, by scoring ten tries. “To captain Australia at any level is a great honour and Andrew is certainly deserving of this role,” Australian U20’s Head Coach, Adrian Thompson said.
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Mitchell criticises Armitage rule
Critics of Steffon Armitage playing for England are just looking for excuses according to Toulon teammate Drew Mitchell. “To be honest, I think that’s a bit of a cop-out,” Mitchell said. “If one guy is capable of disrupting the group culture, I guess the focus would have to be: how strong is that culture?”
While Armitage’s form in France has been excellent, it appears that won’t be enough for England to invoke their ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause. Mitchell, who recently became the benefit of an expanded overseas Test policy, added that England does not have any other loose forwards that bring the Toulon star’s skills to the table.
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