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Being raised in AFL-mad Melbourne and supporting the All Blacks is hardly the classic path to an Australian rugby union jersey but it worked for squad newcomer Ben Tapuai.
The robust 22-year-old Queensland centre was one of three uncapped players chosen in Monday’s 26-man squad for the brief tour that takes in matches against the Barbarians at Twickenham and Wales in Cardiff.
His Reds team mate, backline utility Ben Lucas and Waratahs forward Dave Dennis were the other newcomers, though the latter played in non-Test matches on the 2009 Wallabies Spring Tour.
“He (Dennis) was probably unlucky in the first instance not to make that World Cup squad, but he gets his opportunity now, we expect him to do well, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
“Ben Tapuai earned the right off the back of his Super Rugby experience and played very well on the Gold Coast for the Australian Barbarians against Canada.
“Ben Lucas is obviously a very versatile player. There’s an opening at No.9, which is where most of Benny’s background is, with Luke Burgess going to play his rugby offshore, his versatility will be handy.”
An Australian Schoolboys and under 20 representative, Tapuai has enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent months after being a fringe player for the Reds at the start of the season.
His rugby career took off when he got a scholarship to Queensland’s Southport School, a noted producer of national talent including current Test forwards James Slipper, Scott Higginbotham and Rob Simmons.
“I was born in Brisbane but raised in Melbourne, so that’s why I was lucky enough to get a a scholarship up to the Gold Coast, because Melbourne is run by AFL and I was never going to play that sport,” Tapuai said.
“I was actually an All Black fan when I was a bit younger, but that kind of changed once I started making the the Aussie rep (teams).
“Once I put on the first Aussie jumper, I think I was 17, for the Aussie schoolboys, I knew it was pretty special to try and make the Wallabies,” added Tapuai, who gets stick from heaps of relatives in New Zealand.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.