The Reds’ Super Rugby season could hinge on whether talisman Samu Kerevi is about to outpoint one of his great idols.
Queensland captain Kerevi has been one of the Reds’ best this season as he attempts to help his young team realise its undoubted potential.
Their derby clash against the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday is crucial for both teams.
And much will be decided in the midfield, where Kerevi and his idol and Wallabies teammate Tevita Kuridrani face off.
“He’s defintiely a big body and someone for myself, I’ve always idolised him and make sure I try and play well when I am against him,” Kerevi said.
“As a little fella, out of our community he really put his foot down in Super Rugby and through the Wallabies and he’s someone I’ve always looked up to when I was young.
“To be playing him the last couple of years has always been an honour for me and a blessing for our community to be going up against each other.
“It’s always a big task and not something I take lightly.
“He’s been so dominant for the last couple of years, it’s just really important for me to do my role well both in attack and defence.”
The pair are from the same tight-knit Brisbane Fijian community and attended the same church, with Kuridrani’s trail-blazing ways inspiring Kerevi to follow in his footsteps.
“He definitely paved the way, not just for myself but other aspiring Fijians and especially this Brisbane Fijian community,” Kerevi said.
“He’s someone I’ve always looked up to and he’s been awesome in the Wallabies set-up when I’m in there, helping each other out and trying to get the best out of each other.
“That’s what we want. We’re representing our people, we’re representing our families and whoever gets that job when we’re representing the Wallabies, we’re always happy for each other and we just keep pushing each other.
“This weekend won’t be different, we’ll be pushing each other out there on the field.”
The Super Ks have teamed up for the Wallabies in the past, giving Michael Cheika a physically imposing pair of battering rams in the midfield.
And while Kerevi would love that to be the case again in the World Cup later this year, he knows Super Rugby is where he will have to state his case.
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“We’d love to play in the centres together at Wallabies level and I think we did that in Japan (in 2017), we almost had a full Fijian backline.
“Obviously it’s up to the selectors and our form as well going into those selections but I know that ‘T’ and I would love to play in that combination.
“But we’ve got to make the team first and making sure that we perform at this (Super Rugby) level first is really important to the Wallabies set-up.”
A solid start is vital if the Reds are to beat the Brumbies tomorrow.
Their only win, over the Sunwolves in Tokyo last week, came after a second-half fightback and Kerevi knows the insipid start is not something the Reds can afford to repreat against a Brumbies side that can get on a roll once confident.
“I don’t want this team to fall into the habit of starting slow,” he said.
“It’s going to be important for us to (start well) this weekend against the Brumbies.
“You saw what they did against the Chiefs when they started really well, so it’s something that we don’t want.
“It’s something that we spoke about during the week and we trained that really well.
“We’ve got to train how we want to play, so we’ve done that throughout the week where we’ve started from the get-go each session and made sure we hit the mark we want to hit, the injtenity, communication and detail.
“It’s not on one person – it’s not on the leadership group, or the forwards, or backs – the energy comes from everyone and we want to hit the ground running.
The Reds take on the Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, March 24, kicking off at 4:05pm AEDT (3:05pm local), LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.