Brumbies veteran Clyde Rathbone has been promoted to the starting side at the expense of Wallabies winger Joe Tomane for the Super Rugby qualifying final against the Cheetahs on Sunday.
Rathbone’s shock inclusion polishes a solid Super Rugby comeback year for the 31-year-old, who retired in 2009 after a series of injuries.
Coach Jake White has included the 26-capped Wallaby for his finals experience, as he and flanker George Smith were part of the Brumbies’ 2004 Super Rugby title-winning team.
Yet the move will still leave many scratching their heads, Tomane’s shifting to the bench coming just a fortnight after playing his second game against the British and Irish Lions for the Wallabies.
And despite Rathbone starting in the first three games of the season, he’s since played just 94 minutes over 13 rounds of Super Rugby.
However two tries against the Melbourne Rebels in round 17 followed by a decent performance in the epic win over the Lions was enough to prove to White that the South Africa-born winger has still got it.
“There was an element of surprise given how much respect I’ve got for Joe as a player and the fact he is in the Wallabies,” Rathbone said.
“I thought I was a fairly good chance of being involved in some capacity and that’s just knowing Jake and how much of an emphasis he places on experience.
“The fact that I’ve got a crack ahead of (Tomane) has probably surprised a lot of people.”
Rathbone will provide the side with a calm head and leadership qualities he began honing while captaining South Africa to win the 2002 U21 Rugby World Cup.
He said a lot of what he’d contribute to the team would be in the build up to the Sunday afternoon kick-off at Canberra Stadium.
“The major factors that determine winning or losing happen way in advance of the game itself,” he said.
“So I see my role in this group trying to make sure that from an attitudinal perspective and the mental side of it the guys are ticking all the boxes.”
Rathbone added he had no idea his comeback season would pan out so well at the start of the year.
“If you offered me the season that I’ve had, a win against the Lions, and to be in this position now where we have given ourselves a crack at the title, I would’ve taken it quite greedily,” he said.
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