Samu Kerevi made his first major rugby mark in the 2014 NRC and now the centre wants to use the competition to work his way back to Test rugby.rst
Kerevi played a half of the opening Bledisloe Test, his first full match outing in months, before being left out of the 23 for the second.
The 23-year-old said he was grateful for the faith of Wallabies coach Michael Cheika throwing him back in the fray, but wants to ensure the next chance he has isn’t wasted.
“I haven’t had to play 40 for about three months before that but personally I was disappointed with how I performed,” he said.
“Cheika wasn’t too disappointed, he was just saying it’s been a long time for me to play ,I might have been too early to play
“I like the challenge and love the fact he put the faith in me to be able to perform.
“Personally I want to get better and get back to how I was playing in Super Rugby and obviously last year.
“It’s something I need to work on conditioning wise to get fitter for Test footy.”
Kerevi’s tackle-busting exploits in the 2014 and 2015 NRC propelled him into the Super Rugby and Wallabies frames and the City back said he was keen to use the competition as a platform again.
“I had a runaround with the boys yesterday and we had a team run and I was really excited about the opportunity to play again for City. I’ve had really good memories and back in 2014, was where I really kick started my footy and where I got my confidence from so looking forward to it.
More game time will be a crucial component for Kerevi, who wants to find his way back to a gold jersey.
“I want to get comfortable being uncomfortable on the field, so if that’s conditioning, if that’s defence I’m really working towards that.
Kerevi will start alongside Reds teammate Quade Cooper in the opening NRC round on Saturday, with Brisbane City playing an historic opener against competition newcomers Fijian Drua.
Brisbane City take on the Fijian Drua at Ballymore on Saturday September 2, kicking off at 3pm AEST, LIVE on FOX SPORTS 501.
