Australian capped fly half Noah Lolesio sent a message to Wallabies Head Coach Eddie Jones, after the Brumbies star was left out of the recent Wallabies training squad ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Lolesio called out the name of his positional rival Carter Gordan, after he scored his second try against the Melbourne Rebels last weekend. Jones watched on from the stands at AAMI Park, and would have heard Lolesio’s message, loud and clear.
Carter Gordon was included in Eddie Jones’ Wallabies squad, when the former England Head Coach confirmed his side in April. Lolesio’s omission from the entire squad comes as a shock, as the 23-year-old has been putting in inspired performances since his international breakthrough in 2020.
Lolesio scored the Brumbies first two tries, in their 33-26 win over the Rebels. Carter Gordon’s afternoon was far from as enjoyable, as the Rebels halfback came out on the losing side of this Australian Super Rugby derby. Gordon was folded in half by Brumbies centre Tamati Tua, with the hit being re-played time and again on social media.
Lolesio spoke about his try-scoring message, giving a quick quote at half-time. “It’s a bit personal, this game, but I’ll keep it on the field,” he said. After the match, Brumbies Coach Stephen Larkham was impressed by Lolesio’s fire, and spoke on the message sent to Eddie Jones and the Wallabies selectors.
“He didn’t (mention it was personal) but it’s good to see. He’s super competitive, there’s no doubt about that,” Larkham said to Rugby.com.au.
“He’s someone that wants to be better and better every week and we see that at training.
“He’s challenging himself at training, challenging the guys around him and it’s good to see that bit of passion come out with his emotions there. I didn’t see (his comments) at halftime but obviously when he scored that try it was good to see.”
Lolesio’s Brumbies teammate, and Wallabies fullback Tom Wright commented on the young fly-half’s outburst.
“I think both of them played exceptionally, they were probably the two best players on the field, to be fair, for either side,”
“Noah flattening up really early in the game, scoring his own meat pie (try) there. Potentially, he hasn’t been pushing up into that space early in the season and today he took the cuffs off and was playing right at the line. It was awesome for us.
“It’s good competition, we’d rather be talking about guys pushing for spots than not putting their hand up. It’s awesome for the game”