Good question. He’s a big unit, all 202cm of him (a tick under 6ft 8), stopping the scales at 120kgs. And he’s 23. But Neville has made a meteoric rugby rise in just two years, after a representative rowing career with the Australian Institute of Sport.
Rarely does a forward take off like that.
Most have been playing rugby ever since they were out of nappies. What Neville has achieved in two short years is extraordinary.
Born and bred in Manly, Neville had to play with the Marlins when he made the switch. That goes without saying.
Last night, Neville made his Super Rugby debut with the Melbourne Rebels against the Bulls at AAMI Park. And it was memorable.
Not only did Neville more than hold his own against a powerhouse pack led by Springbok Pierre Spies, but the Rebels went within a whisker of causing the biggest boilover of the season before going down 41-35 to a far more experienced lineup, giving the 12,112 crowd plenty to cheer about when nobody expected the two-wins this season Rebels to match it with the two-loss Bulls.
There’s no such thing as a good loser, but the Rebels played out of their skins in arguably the franchise’s best performance since they were admitted last season.
And Neville was right in the thick of it.
It was not only Neville’s debut, but also Andrew Lees’ as a Super referee.
No meteoric rise for the Australian who cut his teeth as a whistler in Sydney’s Shute Shield and the IRB’s Sevens circuit. It’s been a tough grind to be recognised by his territorial peers, but he’s at last broken through the barrier.
Like Neville, Lees’ first up appearance was memorable.
Memorable also for Mark Gerrard’s 100th Super cap through a combination of Waratahs (2 caps), Brumbies (77), and 21 with the Rebels. He’s been a great servant of the game and will continue to be just that.
And a welcome back to Stirling Mortlock from the Rebels bench for his 139th cap.
The former Wallaby skipper injured a calf muscle so severely pre-season he wasn’t even able to train for long periods.
But last night, Mortlock showed he’d lost none of his old skills. He’s probably a metre or two slower around the park, but he has football brains to burn, and a perfectly timed pass to Mitch Inman late in the game produced Cooper Vuna’s second try.
Tries?
There were plenty of them with five apiece, and perfect goal-kicking from both sides – Morne Steyn’s 7 from 7 for the Bulls, and Kurtley Beale’s 5 from 5 for the Rebels.
In fact, the entire 80 minutes produced a lot of cracking rugby, none better than Beale swapping his 15 jersey for 10.
He’s the best fullback in the country, and judging by last night, without doubt the best fly-half, especially as incumbent Quade Cooper and stand-by James O’Connor are on the long-term injured list.
Beale has an uncanny knack of sighting an opening that doesn’t appear to be there, and he’s gone. As team-mates in the 1980s used to say, “trail Mark Ella”, the same can be said of Beale three decades later.
It’s a special gift reserved for few.
As brilliantly as Beale played last night, as expected, precious few would have expected Cadeyrn Neville to play so well for one very good reason: the vast majority of rugby fans had never heard of him.
They have now.
Cadeyrn Neville photo via: seiserphotography.com
The Bone
Guest
EWF have taken their own local giant on their tour of SA. Where is the article on 125kg lock Jake Ball?
Worlds biggest
Guest
Watched the woodies v beasties game on the box today. Must say while the beasties totally dominated the woodies were very poor particularly in defence. Some of the attempted tackling was farcical and not a good look from the premiers. Yes all the big guns are out however some of the young blokes looked like colts out there and physically weren't at the races. I have not watched a first grade game since the gf and it's very evident the drop in standard is significant while super rugby is on.
Ben S
Roar Guru
I simply stated I felt the chap Neville deserved better than what we see.
Mitch in Valencia
Guest
Wait a minute, is he playing five eight? I thought he was a second rower...!
Worlds biggest
Guest
Nice one Lordy, certainly a great achievement by Neville. Perhaps there is a potential tall timber market in the rowing ranks.
Dassie
Guest
Been there twice and TOTALLY agree. Its a great atmosphere live, great support. In Victoria they cheer for their team, not like the old school Waratah farts.
Albo
Guest
Really? He had a great game against the 'Saders and has been, alongside Dennis, one of the onyl consistent players for the Tahs. Without him they'd be stuffed (even more so) this season. Impressive considering he hasn't been allowed to settle into a spot for the last two-three seasons. I think Mitch Inman is a better 13 than Cummins but they are both similar in style.
Moaman
Guest
There was a dubious penalty for not releasing in the Hurri-Blues match also.....on replay I could see-just-where Peyper was coming from but automatically makes me wonder if an edict has come down from On High for Refs to police this aspect.Maybe they will take a peek again at the Halfbacks' scrum feeds one day?
sittingbison
Guest
Cummins has felled up, AAC has stepped down...again. Two poor (or underwhelming) seasons in a row
Justin
Guest
Yeah I think he just needs to get more involved at Test level from 15. He played well last night but "individual runners" dont tend to succeed at Test level at 10.
Justin
Guest
Agree
Jutsie
Guest
Completely agree. Love KB but why would you want to move from his best position at FB if there is a ready made 5/8 ready to step up. Would like to see a backline of CL, Shipperley, McCabe, AAC, Ioane, KB for the June tests. AAC the only player I'm not so sure about but I cant really think of any outstanding 13's in aus this year.
Elisha Pearce
Expert
Lineout dominance was the difference maker ML. You're right there.
Elisha Pearce
Expert
Lordy, I was going to say that this is one of the better columns you've put up in a while. Nothing wrong with saluting his rise to Super Rugby. I didn't see any outsided predictions of future success either. I also see your ponit Ben S. You are sick of the 'next big thing' not working out. That has been a problem for a while. I don't think Lordy said he was going to single handedly add anything worldbeating to the Australian rugby landscape though.
Sprigs
Guest
Agree. It's a bit like having a judge in a criminal case being related to the defendant but promising to be be completely neutral.
apelu
Guest
I think Lee went extremely well on his debut as a ref in super rugby. He looked very calm and iconfident compared to some of the showponies that have been on show in the last couple of weeks.
Gav
Roar Pro
As a side note, I agree re comments about KB. Was amazing to watch, something Adam Freier echoed in his article in the 08 final for the Tahs. His ability to find holes where they seemingly didn't exist. It's clear from our standpoint, that moving forward KB will be 10. O'Connor, without Cipriani was a shadow of himself (refer to the Cheetahs game).
Gav
Roar Pro
Great article David. The team, although in it's 2nd year, is in a major transition stage, due to more than likely retirements/transfers and injury. Very encouraging to see players like Neville come through and make an impact. Was Lucky enough to have a few quick words with him post match, you could tell he was pumped. Except for the busted lip.
dingobob
Guest
One performance does not a season make Christian Lealiifano is stillthe form flyhalf of the OZ confetence
Atawhai Drive
Roar Guru
Because of the need for justice to be seen to be done, through the medium of neutral referees. On second thoughts, anyone could have refereed the game in Wellington. But it would have saved some money to have a New Zealand referee in charge. The game in Melbourne should have been controlled by a neutral i.e. a Kiwi. And I'm not suggesting referees are biased, simply that decisions they make favouring the home team can be perceived as such. Test matches have had neutral referees since 1979. All professional rugby should have neutral officials.