Kerevi happy to take on Tahs’ veteran pair
JIM TUCKER THE DAD’S Army centre pairing picked by NSW to muzzle Samu Kerevi tonight will prove a masterstroke or the gateway to a droughtbreaking Queensland Reds victory.
Centre Kerevi has not beaten the Waratahs in six seasons but it’s long-suffering Reds fans that make him feel so deeply about snapping the inglorious streak of 10 losses to NSW.
“Stop Kerevi, stop the Reds” is the simple formula behind the Waratahs selecting two centres for Suncorp Stadium who have more kilometres on the clock than an old Ford Falcon.
Veterans Adam AshleyCooper, 35, and Karmichael Hunt, 32, will both pour 15 years of top footy into the defensive smarts to shutdown Kerevi’s influence.
“It’s kind of humbling being a targeted man but I feel that each week and I always play to get my teammates involved,” Kerevi said.
You have to look deeper than Kerevi’s mind-boggling season stats. He leads Super Rugby for carries (139), running metres (1146) and tackles busts (50).
What makes him more potent is that he’s taken on coach Brad Thorn’s push to develop his game like All Black great Ma’a Nonu with more passing and kicking subtleties.
He also leads the Reds for linebreak assists (11) and offMatt McGahan Kurtley Beale Jock Campbell Alex Newsome Chris Feauai-Sautia A Ashley-Cooper Samu Kerevi (c) Karmichael Hunt Sefa Naivalu Cam Clark Bryce Hegarty Bernard Foley Tate McDermott Nick Phipps A Scott-Young Michael Wells Liam Wright M Hooper (c) L Salakaia-Loto Lachlan Swinton Angus Blyth Rob Simmons Izack Rodda Ned Hanigan Taniela Tupou Sekope Kepu Alex Mafi Damien Fitzpatrick JP Smith Tom Robertson loads (18) which is where his partnership with centre partner Chris Feauai-Sautia can swing the big clash.
“Chrissy and I have been playing together since Brisbane State High and it’s just flowing between us right now,” Kerevi said.
“If I do one thing, he’ll do what complements it without really having to say a word, which means I know he’ll be there when I’m making an offload.
“Chrissy and I understand how strong ‘K’ is in the tackle and ‘AC’ is at reading the play so it’s important the impact we have.”
The less-heralded FeauaiSautia is a gamebreaker as well.
“Samu always gets his hands free for the offload and I know where to be in support after all our years together,” he said. Inside centre Hunt has produced some striking offloads and plays for the Waratahs but being burnt on the outside is his Achilles heel now his lateral movement have slowed.
But the Reds don’t have a speedster to expose him.