NRC marquee player draft
The Australian Rugby Union announced the teams many of the Wallabies representatives will be aligned to for the 2015 National Rugby Championship season.
Players recognised as Wallabies for the 2015 NRC are those that were part of the 2014 Northern Hemisphere Tour plus Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau and David Pocock. Each NRC team was asked to nominate to the ARU the Wallabies they were seeking for their allocation.
New South Wales Waratahs duo Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley will be aligned with the Sydney Stars, while powerhouse Sean McMahon headlines Melbourne Rising’s Wallabies.
Brumbies trio Henry Speight, Christian Lealiifano and Joe Tomane will be affiliated to the UC Vikings. Meanwhile, Wallabies flank Michael Hooper will be aligned with the North Harbour Rays with James Slipper and Saia Fainga’a the marquee names for Queensland Country.
Elsewhere, Sam Carter and Matt Toomua will represent NSW Country Eagles while James Horwill and Will Genia will be aligned with 2014 Champions Brisbane City. Tetera Faulkner and Kyle Godwin will be playing for Perth Spirit and Tatafu Polota-Nau and Rob Horne affiliated with the Greater Sydney Rams.
Rob Clarke, General Manager of the ARU said: "Everybody involved in Australian Rugby cannot wait until the second National Championship gets underway. The announcement of the allocation of our star Wallabies players to teams in the NRC whets the appetite still further.
"Last year, without the NRC, Quade Cooper may well not have had the game-time to impress the Wallabies’ management ahead of the 2014 northbound tour had it not been for his starring role playing for Brisbane City in the competition. This gives a little snapshot underlining the importance of the competition in our pathways.
"I know for a fact that each player is looking forward to being a part of their respective NRC team. Coupled with the fact we’ll have hungry club players looking to impress and Super Rugby representatives going up against each other, this season is shaping up to be one to remember."
Announcements in relation to other contracting arrangements, including players contracted to Super Rugby provinces, will be announced by the nine competing sides in the weeks leading up to the National Rugby Championship kick-off on August 20.
2015 National Rugby Championship – Marquee Player Alignment:
Brisbane City
James Horwill
Quade Cooper
Will Genia
Greater Sydney Rams
Tatafu Polota-Nau
Rob Horne
Kurtley Beale
Benn Robinson
Melbourne Rising
Sean McMahon
Luke Jones
Tom English
North Harbour Rays
Michael Hooper
NSW Country Eagles
Sam Carter
Matt Toomua
Queensland Country
James Slipper
Rob Simmons
Saia Fainga’a
Perth Spirit
Tetera Faulkner
Kyle Godwin
Sydney Stars
Nick Phipps
Bernard Foley
Israel Folau
Will Skelton
UC Vikings
Henry Speight
Christian Lealiifano
Joe Tomane
