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Five Australians to look out for in the Heineken Cup
By RugbyPass
With the 2018 Heineken Cup looming and RugbyPass providing live coverage in Australia, we look at five of the best Aussie talents in the competition.
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MATT TOOMUA - Leicester
Wallabies playmaker Matt Toomua found himself back in the spotlight after leading the national side to victory over South Africa during this year’s Rugby Championship.
The 28-year-old has plied his trade with Leicester and will resume his partnership with England flyhalf George Ford upon his return to Welford Road.
The former Brumby has 38 Tests to his name, and his Leicester side are the only English team to have qualified for every iteration of the Heineken Cup.
WILL SKELTON - Saracens
Towering former Wallabies lock Will Skelton remains an on-pitch terror for opponents.
After slimming down from 148kg to 135kg, the hulking Skelton will be looking to add to his trophy cabinet with a Heineken Cup win in 2018. He won the Premiership in his first season with Saracens, coming off the bench in last year’s final.
READ MORE: Skelton drops 18kg
Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall lovingly described the 26-year-old as the biggest human he has ever seen.
HENRY SPEIGHT - Ulster
Fijian-born winger Henry Speight joined Ulster after seven seasons and over 100 matches with the Brumbies.
Possessing a perfect blend of pace and power, Speight heads north with 19 Wallabies caps to his name.
Speight will be around for the first two months of Heineken Cup competition before re-joining the Brumbies before the new year in hopes of a World Cup berth.
JOE TOMANE - Leinster
Former Brumbies utility and cross-code star Joe Tomane joins reigning champion Leinster after two years in France.
A background in rugby league makes Tomane a hard-hitting mercenary in the midfield or on the wing, where he will play outside the likes of Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose.
The addition of Tomane makes Leinster’s already devastating attack even more dangerous, giving Leo Cullen’s side a player of international quality they can turn to when their seven Ireland backs go into camp.
SCOTT FARDY - Leinster
Scott Fardy has achieved cult hero status since joining the Irish province in 2017.
The 39-Test Wallaby already has a PRO14 and Heineken Cup title to his name, and last year was a nominee for European Professional Club Rugby Player of the Year honours.
Capable of playing at lock or in the back row, Fardy is part of a star-studded forward pack featuring Irish internationals Devin Toner, James Ryan, Tadhg Furlong, Sean O’Brien and Dan Leavy.
At 34 years old, Fardy will be one of the elder statesmen in the pack as he tries to lead his side to another pair of titles.
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Latest Comments
No just because the personal is much better than last year. I've shown no antagonism of Crusader players, you must be confusing me with someone else.
I have critized Razor for picking players he knows occasionally?
I said I'm not surprised because of his style, he's more a grinder player like Cane, not going to show up on peoples radar until you see how bad the other choices are. This year players like Clarke have been on fire and just show a bit more.
Are you one of those posters continually taking it easy on Razor because he doesn't have his Crusaders stars available? Do you think the rugby world is going to up to him suddenly once Mo'unga returns? lol
Go to commentsJohn you have been beating this drum for a couple of years, if you get proven right get back to us.
The last recent and decent Aussie coach was Ewen McKenzie, he was undermined and forced out by a couple of slimy Aussie players who were given a free pass when they should have been disciplined.
So our history since McQueen is very checkered and it seems to make little difference whether we have an Aussie coach or a Kiwi coach. The players have been entitled for a long time and we had to hit bottom to get them back into reality and to stop thinking it is all about them.
Cheika was an OK coach but his 'go our and destroy the opposition' tactic worked for a while and then didn't.
Please give me a list of great Aussie coaches that I have missed.
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