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