'You belong here': The 20-year-old Super Rugby rookie who could be the answer to Australia's lock crisis

With all four Wallabies locks from last year’s Rugby World Cup set to be playing their club rugby overseas as of 2021, the depth of the position has been questioned constantly throughout Super Rugby AU.

But national coach Dave Rennie may have found himself an answer.

Standing at 203cm and by playing the game at a level simply beyond his years, Rebels lock Trevor Hosea can bring some much-needed youth to help reinvigorate the Wallabies second row.

Hosea have become a staple of the Rebels match day side since making his debut off the bench in the opening round of Super Rugby AU against the Brumbies. He has a tackle accuracy of 93 percent and has already become a leader for the Rebels at the set piece.

The 20-year-old was recently rewarded for his form throughout his breakout rookie campaign, named in Rennie’s players of national interest (PONI) list last month. Hosea said that it was a proud moment for both him and his family, but admitted that he wants to improve his work rate and lineout timing as he looks to officially take that next step.

“Just having eyes on me, it’s a big achievement for me getting selected in the PONI squad but there’s obviously heaps of work to do,” Hosea told RugbyPass.

“I’ve just got to keep working hard because I know there are eyes on me. I’ve just got to show what I’ve got.

“It would mean the world to me [to play for the Wallabies], it was a dream growing up. I’ve been working hard this year, been working hard the last few years to try and get a game under my belt and it’s all working out so far.”

Even though he was born in AFL-mad Victoria, Hosea always had eyes for the 15-man code. He said that he’s been “drawn to rugby” because of his father, having first played the sport at six-years old.

But Hosea made a big decision in 2016 which showed just how serious he was about rugby.

"There's a lot of young fellas coming through and I just think it's that hunger that's been shown throughout the comp, the hunger to want to represent at higher honours. That's a real drive for us young fellas coming through and we see the opportunity at the end, it's there to take, so we're all fighting for a spot.

"I think it was one of the best performances from an under-20s team in a while. A lot of us young fellas coming through took a lot of confidence out of that World Cup, and it just shows how much it meant to us and how much we're willing to work to get to that next level.”

Much like their opponents this weekend, the Rebels have been on the road throughout their entire Super Rugby AU campaign. With Victoria having been in lockdown since July, Hosea and his side will be out to “lift the spirits” of their fans with what would be a historic victory on Saturday.

The Rebels face the Force in the final round of Super Rugby AU, where they can secure a maiden playoff berth with a victory by four or more points.