With so many players and clubs doing media each day, it can be hard to keep on top of a lot of the stories coming out.
Rugby is filled with them across all levels of the game and whilst most are covered through some form of media, there are others that might have slipped off the radar.
One Percenters looks at everything you might have missed from the week of Rugby.
Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi has refused to rule out a potential return to Australian Rugby as he confirms his contract with Japanese club Suntory expires at the end of the season.
Kerevi was one of the Wallabies' best during the Rugby Championship and looms as the primary option to return under the new selection policy.
However, speaking with media during the week, the barnstorming centre hinted at a permanent move home, even if it meant doing the unthinkable and playing against his beloved Reds.
“I’m coming off-contract,” Kerevi confirmed this week. “[But] never want to close any doors. Right now, I’m really enjoying my footy here in Japan and with Suntory. They’ve been awesome …The type of rugby we play is enticing. I’ve got to play with Beaudie and now DMac, All Blacks I would have never [had the chance to play with] back home.
“I think the opportunity to play back home will hopefully arise towards the back-end of my contract, which is the next couple of months. I never want to close any doors but at the same time, I’m really enjoying my footy at the moment and just trying to get better.
“It’s a hard thing to think about, playing outside of Queensland. I don’t want to give away too much but I’ve thought about it. If that situation did arise, I don’t know…If that opportunity did arise for other teams, I’d definitely have a look at it.
"At the moment, I’m probably enjoying my time at Suntory too much to think that far forward. We’ve got finals coming up in the next couple of weeks, hopefully. Those conversations will happen with my management and Rugby Australia.”
With Rugby Australia confirming a partnership with Sportable, there has never been a time where stats have been more rich and available to clubs, coaches and fans.
As data continued to develop, take a look at some of the more interesting and unique stats heading into round eight, courtesy of Opta.
- Whilst the Drua have received widespread praise for their offloads and ability to finish a try, it’s meant their goal kicking has gone under the radar. They have the second-best percentage in Super Rugby (82.8%) only behind the Force, largely down to Teti Tela’s sharp boot, with the Brumbies languishing at the bottom with just 64.9%.
- Tom Wright will be looking to continue his electric start to the season as he moves to fullback, one of three tied for top try-scorer so far. He is joined by Kurt Eklund and Leicester Fainga’anuku after scoring five tries in seven games.
- Luke Reimer is one of several Brumbies to earn a well-deserved start this weekend. Reimer has been immense off the bench in terms of his defensive effort, recording a comp high 24.2 tackles per 80 minutes. He is joined in the top five by Tom Ross (19.7 tackles per 80), with Billy Pollard sitting at eight (18.1 per 80)
- The Rebels and Force always deliver classics, with seven of their previous eight decided by single margins, with an average of 44.6 points scored across their 18 games. The only outliner is their round two clash, with the Force running away as dominant winners.
- As for the Rebels, they have enjoyed a great run as their away team against the Force, winning seven of nine games as the visitor.
- It’s interesting to note when looking at the leading offloads for 2022, it’s lock Matt Philip that leads the way alongside Quinn Tupaea. He has recorded 12 for the season so far, four higher than any other forward.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie looked to keep his cards close to his chest when speaking during Tuesday's fixture announcement, however, levelled praise on James O'Connor as he weighs up his options ahead of the England series.
O'Connor was the lone fit flyhalf in the 40-man squad, with Noah Lolesio (ankle) and Ben Donaldson (calf) carrying niggles into camp.
This seemingly has the 2021 Super Rugby AU MVP as the front-runner from the local hopes, with the option to re-call Quade Cooper still firmly on Rennie's mind.
“James has been excellent, very influential in the form of the Reds which is great to see,” Rennie told reporters on Tuesday
“He had a big year last year for the Reds as well and then got injured prior to the French series and took a long time to come back from that.
“So he’s certainly a frontrunner but Quade’s still an option for us.
“He was excellent last year and we’ve got Noah who’s obviously injured at the moment, Ben Donaldson’s injured too so we’d like to see those young kids play as much footy as possible."
Whilst on Rennie, it was interesting to note he believes the tight-five is still firmly up for grabs in the national set-up, particular at lock and hooker.
Fullback and hooker have the two areas the Wallabies have trialled and tested players the most, however, the emergence of Jordan Petaia and Jock Campbell along with the return of Kurtley Beale has the Wallabies coach looking at other places as the most 'open' in the current squad.
"If you look at what we picked here, we picked six locks because it is an area of focus for us, we have four hookers here, we have a number of guys who can play 10 and a number of guys who can play 15," he added.
"We are very happy with Tom prior to getting injured and he's been in excellent form.
"It has been great to see Jordy play back to back games and he is getting better and better, and Hodgey has played there a bit for us last year.
"We still have Kurtley to come back, so we have some options...He has a hamstring injury at the moment so the severity of that and how much footy he gets prior to the English series may dictate (Beale's selection).
After tormenting the Wallabies for years with his goal-kicking prowess, Dan Carter is putting it to good use, raising money for UNICEF.
To launch the DC10 Fund, Carter will return to Eden Park to attempt a 24-hour Kickathon, aiming to successfully convert 1,598 kicks - the total number of test points he scored as an All Black.
Funds raised from the Kickathon will go to the DC10 Fund, directly supporting UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene programme (WASH) for children in the Pacific.
He has raised over $130,000 so far, slotting over 1,000 conversations so far at a 97% conversation, with the Rugby community encouraged to donate at this link
