Brumbies ace eyes national team as Super Rugby restarts

Growing up in NSW’s Riverina region, Corey Toole was always lightning quick, but his career path in professional rugby has been more of a slow burn.

The Wagga Wagga speedster had an unconventional route to the top level of rugby union. 

After unsuccessfully trying his hand at Aussie rules, he made his name in Rugby Sevens before being poached by the ACT Brumbies in 2022.

“I played AFL when I was 14, 15, 16, because that’s what all my friends were doing” he told AAP. 

“But I wasn’t too good at AFL, so when I got a bit older I could do senior rugby so I jumped and haven’t looked back since.”

Having guided Australia to their first Sevens World Series title and featured in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Toole is fully focused on the 15-man game and finally breaking into the Wallabies.

The 24-year-old is yet to debut for the national team despite receiving his first call-up to the Wallabies squad last year from coach Joe Schmidt.

Schmidt’s announcement that he’ll be stepping down after Australia’s Rugby Championship fixtures hasn’t dampened Toole’s selection ambitions.

“I’m not gonna let that worry me too much,” he said.

“No one’s locked into the squad, it resets every year. If you’re playing good footy, it’ll do the talking for you. It doesn’t matter what coach will be there.”

First up for Toole to prove his Wallabies credentials is the Brumbies’ season opener against the Fijian Drua in Suva on Saturday – the club’s first-ever match in the Pacific Island nation.

But he knows what to expect more than most, having played there previously with the Sevens side.

“It’s a good atmosphere in Fiji,” he said.

“They’ve got real passionate supporters, and we’re expecting a very loud crowd. So we focused on the last couple weeks of training, trying to get our communication between one another really good so the passionate supporters don’t interrupt us too much.”

Six Brumbies players are in line for a debut against the Drua, including new recruits Feao Fotuaika and loose forward Tuaina Taii Tualima, as well as development players Lington Ieli, Judah Saumaisue, Kadin Pritchard and inside centre Austin Anderson.

“Austin has been in our system for a couple of years now, and it’s been a longer term project with him,” coach Stephen Larkham said.

“When he first came in, we knew that he was always going to get an opportunity to play Super Rugby at some stage, because he showed what he could do from day dot here.

“He’s got a very unique skill set. Kicks off both feet, but predominantly a left foot kicker. Really tough, picks things up really quickly, and has a really good skill set in terms of catch pass.”

Former Melbourne Rebels player David Feliuai will have to wait for his Brumbies Super Rugby debut, joining Wallabies Rob Valetini and Charlie Cale in the injury ward with a dislocated finger.