Two new Wallabies benefited from club rugby development

By Sam Ryan No two Wallabies players deserved to hear their names called last night more so than Brendon Paenga-Amosa and Tom Banks. The pair were two of five uncapped players named in Michael Cheika’s 32-man squad to face Ireland in the upcoming June Test series, and they both earned their spot the hard way. In the era of the “18-year old superstar”, Paenga-Amosa and Banks are rarities and both spent several years toiling away in club rugby before earning a Super Rugby contract and eventually a spot in Cheika’s squad. Are they outliers? Or are they products of club rugby and a development pathway that rewards players when they are actually ready to be rewarded? Paenga Amosa came through Sydney’s public school system. While he showed promise as a schoolboy, others were selected ahead of him and after finishing school and shifting from flanker to hooker, he joined local club Southern Districts and played colts. This gave Paenga-Amosa time to grow and de
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