The Wallabies are bringing an extra Kerevi in their ranks this week as they prepare to face Wales in their crucial Pool D clash this weekend.
Josh Kerevi, the older brother of Wallabies vice-captain Samu, is training with Australia ahead of their pivotal match-up on Sunday as an extra training number, as rookie centre Jordan Petaia works his way back from a hamstring injury.
Josh, the elder brother of Samu Kerevi, is based in Japan playing for the Akita Northern Bullets in Hokkaido and working as a sports exchange advisor.
It was as part of that second role that the oldest Kerevi brother was embedded in the Fijian camp in Akita, helping them with logistics ahead of their match with the Wallabies.
At the time, Samu said he wasn’t mining his sibling for information, but he won’t need to try and find out any inside information this week.
With the elder Kerevi not eligible for Wallabies duties, his involvement is all ticked off with World Rugby, and he is expected to train with the side for most of the week.
Under World Rugby rules, no Test eligible players can train with squads unless part of the 31-man group selected for the tournament.
Any injury replacement is permanent, with replacements not able to join squads for 24 hours after a player is ruled out.
The Wallabies have put faith in Petaia to recover from a hamstring injury for next weekend’s Uruguay clash, after the 19-year-old picked up the injury in their pre-tournament camp in Noumea.
Speaking on Tuesday, Petaia said he was keen to repay the coaches’ trust in him.
“It makes me feel pretty warm inside, the coaches trust me and back me to come along still,” he said.
“It was good that the coaches backed me and still bring me along on this trip and just got to pay them back I guess, just get right.
“The injury’s coming along well. I’m enjoying the trip, it's going well, my first World Cup so a lot of new experiences, but I'm enjoying it.”
Petaia has had rotten injury luck this season, with a lisfranc injury in round three of Super Rugby ending his domestic season before a hamstring injury in Australia’s Noumea camp robbed him of a chance to play against Samoa or in the first two matches of this Rugby World Cup.
A previous hamstring niggle also prevented him from making his Test debut against Italy on last year’s Spring Tour.
“Yeah, pretty much (it’s been annoying) but that’s been the story of this year pretty much - been on the sidelines, hoping to get the injury right as soon as possible and get back out on the field with the boys,” he said.
The Wallabies take on Wales at Tokyo Stadium on Sunday September 29, kicking off at 4:45pm local, 5:45pm AEST, LIVE on Foxtel, Network Ten and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO, Rugby Xplorer and Amazon Alexa.
