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Makes me want to reach for my tinfoil hat again.
Good luck to him, to be on the radar of one of the proudest scrummaging nations in the world in the lead up to a world cup is massive.
Australia's loss I'm afraid!
C'mon the
Entirely expected.
Go well Keiran.
That is all!
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Unfortunately this is the kind of thing that will/ could lose the Force good players. The ARU just try to ignore any team apart from the Tahs, Reds and Ponys. Many people were saying we had the best front row in Au but what do we get . Pek as bench, Cheese also bench and K-bomb SFA!
Yet again " well done ARU".
May the FORCE be with you!
To be fair he wasn't picked as he was leaving Australia.Originally Posted by SNOB
It would be fantastic to see KBomb get selected for England as he's a real example of "the harder you work the luckier you get".
IMO KBomb blossomed under Foley as coach.
He became a better all-round contributor in 2013 but was well short of Wallaby selection. He appeared to improve greatly in the 2nd half of the season.
The turning point appeared to be the post season body building/fitness of the 2013/2014 period when there was targeted strengthening across all players. KBomb improved his speed and strength of engagement around the park.
He really came of age in 2014 with a round-the-ground contribution and was told early in 2014 that he was probably up for Wallaby selection.
Evidently his self-analysis and desire to improve his game was amongst the best at the WForce.
The reality is that neither the Western Force nor the Wallabies can offer the $$s being offered in Europe. The Saracens offer was just too good to refuse.
Imagine if Pek and KBomb line up against each other in the World Cup. It could happen
I feel a little sick
We've got a spring tour coming up, fast-track him into the Wallabies instead.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
What super rugby province will he play for having just signed a 2 year deal.
He's gone and there isn't anything we can do about it.
Just hoping that if he gets a cap it's not just to keep him from playing for australia should he come back
more likely that the Poms will tin-hat it and accuse him of sabotage everytime their scrum is penalised!
TWF exists in England now?
Can't tin hat anything to do with Kieran, he's never played for the Tahs
C'mon the
FOX SPORTS
September 22, 2014 10:35AM
HE was born and raised in Australia. He played for the Western Force two months ago.
He could pack down for England at next year’s World Cup.
Kieran Longbottom recently joined the long list of Australians plying their trade overseas, but never did he think his contract with Saracens could culminate in an England jersey and a possible World Cup match-up with the Wallabies.
Born in Perth and capped 57 times for Western Force since his Super Rugby debut in 2008, Longbottom was informed by Australian coach Ewen McKenzie earlier this year that he was on the Wallabies’ “radar”.
But after leaving Australia to join Saracens — and fortuitously discovering his “English roots” — the 28-year-old has come on to the radar of an England team facing an injury crisis at tight-head prop, and he’s declared he would love to play for the Poms.
“Absolutely, to represent England would be a definite honour,” Longbottom told London’s The Times at the weekend.
“I have seen the history behind England and it’s epic. To represent that would be a great honour.”
Almost as unbelievable as the fact that Longbottom wants to play for the enemy is that he didn’t even know he was able to represent the 2003 World Cup winners until he arrived in London.
“I did not think that I was eligible to play for England,” Longbottom said.
“I thought I would come here for a couple of years, become a better scrummager and go back and have another crack at it (playing for Australia).
“My manager asked do you have any British grandparents and I remembered my mum mentioning that her mum was born in England. It just popped up. I didn’t even know that’s how it worked.”
The Daily Mail reports that Longbottom is being viewed as a candidate for England coach Stuart Lancaster’s national squad, to be named on October 22, owing to a lack of depth at tight-head prop.
With Australia’s front-row stocks a traditional major concern, the prospect of Longbottom defecting to England would not go down well with McKenzie. The Wallabies coach had already voiced his frustration at losing Longbottom from the Australian rugby scene.
“He was definitely a guy we looked at very strongly ... It’s a bit frustrating. I spoke to him back in January so he would know he was at least on our radar,” McKenzie told The Australian in May, when Longbottom’s departure from Western Force was revealed.
Incredibly, Longbottom isn’t even the only Australian who could line up for a rival nation at the World Cup next year.
France-based Brock James and Blair Connor were last week named in a 74-man World Cup training squad by Les Bleus coach Philippe Saint-Andre.
Then there’s the Australians based overseas who are ineligible to be selected for the Wallabies, led by Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Digby Ioane, Berrick Barnes, Ben Mowen and Kane Douglas.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wa...-1227066237982
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Interesting piece in the UK's Daily Mail yesterday, with some intriguing comments from Kieran about a chat with McKenzie that seemed to go nowhere...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rug...ongbottom.html
But if the ARU really want him to play for the wallabies they'll somehow manage to pull cash out of another force wallaby's deal, pay him out of the current gig and then give him a spot at there. Just. You. Wait.
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