Wallaby hooker jealous of NRL
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wallabies hooker Jordan Uelese admits he’s a little “jealous” of his NRL counterparts with no rugby to be played until at least July.
While the Rugby League competition will resume in less than three weeks, a domestic Super Rugby competition is still almost two months off.
Due to Victorian state government tight restrictions, Uelese’s Melbourne Rebels are likely to be the last of the Super Rugby franchises to resume training on May 18.
That situation has also forced their AAMI Park co-tenants the Melbourne Storm across the border into NSW to train.
“We are a bit jealous looking at the NRL but it gives us hope that we aren’t too far away from getting to that point,” Uelese told AAP.
“We’re waiting on Rugby Australia and looking forward to seeing what kind of competition structure they come up with.
“It’s giving us a bit of hope and motivation – it’s good to see the NRL boys out there training and we really can’t wait to get back into it to.”
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The proposed competition is a 10-week five-team domestic competition that also involves the Western Force.
Uelese is especially desperate to get back to playing with a troublesome knee injury restricting him to just 11 games in the past two Super Rugby seasons.
He missed the first four rounds this year, returning for two games until the competition was shut down in mid-March.
“This is is the first year when I’ve finally got my body right,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’s such a shame. I had two games on the trot and was looking to build on to that and then all of this happens.”
He did however play in all five of the Wallabies’ 2019 World Cup matches as a reserve hooker and said he was looking forward to what incoming Test coach Dave Rennie brought to the role.
“I’ve had a chat with him … he’s huge on fitness and that aspect of things,” Uelese said.
“He also made it clear that you have to earn your spot and anything that happened before this year didn’t guarantee you a place but that’s something I love – there’s no favourites and everyone is on an equal base.
“That’s given me an incentive to work that little but harder on my scrummaging, my throwing and my fitness, so it’s really exciting.”
