Samu Kerevi admits he's taken inspiration from the likes of Beauden Barrett and Ma'a Nonu as he adapts his game style.
Kerevi has picked up where he left off since returning to the Wallabies, scoring during their 27-8 win over Argentina
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Having spent time in Japan and the Sevens, he told reporters the stint helped to redefine and develop his skill set, looking at All Blacks legend Ma'a Nonu for inspiration.
“I think spending my time abroad in Japan, they’ve got a big focus on skillset over there and I had to adapt my game there, funnily enough, our backs coach (at Suntory) worked with Dave in Europe so a lot of things that we’ve worked on at Suntory is similar to what the Wallabies boys are doing here,” he said.
“I think the skill set is something I’ve always wanted to improve and I think getting the hunger to continue that way, I’m getting older so the body’s not going to be the same, so I have to adapt the way I play.
“Someone who has inspired me is Ma’a Nonu so seeing a player like that improve his skill set is something that I want to get to so it’s definitely about adding armour to the armoury.
“…For me, it’s about just progressing. I’ve never been happy with where I am and always having a glass-half-full view on performances….It’s just an evolving piece that I want to keep improving.”
Ironically, it was a current All Blacks that helped him on that track, linking up with Beauden Barrett during his brief stint with Suntory.
Kerevi admitted he tried to soak up as much knowledge from the returning Blues playmaker, picking up the 'extras' that will take his game to the next level.
“He helped a lot,” he explained.
“He was an open book for me over there. On Wednesday’s, we’d have extras and I would just tag along with him, even just after the sessions. The biggest thing I took out of it was simplicity, simple skill set, kicking, done really well and the amount he puts into his work, I want to do the same so picking up extra passing or kicking on the day off on top of the recovery stuff.
“It’s all the little things that I feel add together and over time, you keep building that and it becomes a habit in times of pressure which is something I want to fall back to.”
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As Kerevi searches for further growth in his game, he believes the 'refreshing' atmosphere the coaching staff are building can help take him and the side to the next level, focusing on finding improvements even after a commanding victory.
“Especially for me coming into camp, it’s been a refreshing group,” he added. I harped on it before but the foundations that the coaching staff (have laid) and I think the space of growth but also trying to improve like ‘Slippy said.’
“We haven’t reached the ceiling, we’ve had awesome wins but there’s still so much more we can improve on from the weekend.
“We’re happy with the win but there were plenty of missed opportunities and little details that we can clean up. Every Monday we come in and they set that up by the way they speak to each of us, by the way they present. I think it’s awesome growth for the growth to not be happy with where we are.”
