New recruits Monty Ioane and Sam Talakai are hoping to help accelerate the growth of the Rebels' next generation of stars as they push for finals football.
Ioane and Talakai are valuable signings for the club after the departure of Wallabies playmaker Matt To'omua, club captain Michael Wells and Super Rugby centurion James Hansen among others, set to play in their final trial against the Brumbies on Saturday
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It leaves the club lacking experience, with the likes of Carter Gordon (22), Lukas Ripley (20) and Glen Vaihu (21) forming a key core of their future.
Both Ioane and Talakai provide the squad with vital experience, having featured on the Spring Tour for Italy and the Wallabies respectively after taking the long road to Test Rugby.
The Victorian-born Ioane gets the chance to represent his home state after floating between clubs in France and New Zealand before making his name with Italian Benetton with such success it earned him a call-up to the national side in 2020.
The winger discusses his motivations during the third episode of Rebel Within, looking to help take the likes of Ripley and Vaihu under his guidance.
“It’s been awesome coming back and watching all these young talented boys come through and being able to watch them showcase their skills,” Ioane said.
“They give you energy playing alongside them and with the old heads’ experience, to be able to tie those two together, it’s quite exciting to see how the season pans out.
“They’ve got the talent and skill to be here, I can help provide that small detail off the field and those one percenters in terms of doing the extra work and work ethic. These guys already have it, it’s just about them continuing to put in the hard words.”
As for Talakai, the tighthead returns to the 'Stockade' after a four-year absence, plying his trade for Japanese giants Suntory.
He recognises a large contingency of the squad was 'accelerated' into Super Rugby whether ready or not, largely on account of last year's ever-growing injury list.
The 31-year-old is ready to impart his wisdom after making his Wallaby debut against Wales.
“This is a team game and whatever we do, we have to do it collectively. For us to achieve success in Super Rugby, we can’t do it individually,” Talakai notes.
“We talk about experience but there’s a lot of guys who have accelerated journeys so a lot come straight out of school into professional environments or small times in club rugby whereas myself and Monty (Ioane) have had to do it the tougher way.
“We want to fill those parts the guys might have missed as young athletes to help accelerate them to quality performances on the field for us. You look around Super Rugby and there’s a lot of young guys in our squad.
“I take it personally and so does Monty to help those young guys and help accelerate their journey because at the end of the day we’re going to need everyone in the squad in go deep in this competition.”
