Kerevi preparing to play 7s for Australia at Tokyo Olympics

By: The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ex-Wallabies center Samu Kerevi has returned from Japan to have a shot at making Australia’s rugby sevens team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/06/2021 (1937 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ex-Wallabies center Samu Kerevi has returned from Japan to have a shot at making Australia’s rugby sevens team for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 27-year-old midfielder has been included in Australia’s team to play against Olympic champion Fiji, New Zealand and an Oceania Barbarians team in the June 25-27 Oceania Championship in Townsville, northern Queensland state.

Head coach Tim Walsh announced his squad Thursday, including a first selection for Kerevi as well the return of Lewis Holland, Lachlan Anderson and Tim Anstee from their Super Rugby commitments.

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2019 file photo, Australia's Samu Kerevi fends off an England's Manu Tuilagi during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match at Oita Stadium in Oita, Japan. Kerevi has been named in the Australian 7's squad for the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena,File)
FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2019 file photo, Australia's Samu Kerevi fends off an England's Manu Tuilagi during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match at Oita Stadium in Oita, Japan. Kerevi has been named in the Australian 7's squad for the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena,File)

After playing 33 tests and being a regular starter for Australia in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, Kerevi hasn’t been available for Wallabies’ selection because he’s based overseas and playing for Suntory in Japan’s Top League.

Kerevi hasn’t played for Australia in the sevens format at all, but Walsh has suggested the ball-running, heavy-tackling midfielder can be well used as an impact player.

Walsh said Kerevi hadn’t been given any guarantees regarding Olympic selection, but had been doing everything possible to put himself in contention since returning to Australia and going through quarantine.

“Just by virtue of having a player of his calibre, it changes the dynamic of the squad a bit so he’s had a big impact,” Walsh said. “Hopefully for us and the team he gets to wear the gold jersey.”

Walsh said the enforced break from competition during the COVID-19 pandemic has bolstered the playing depth.

“Players who wouldn’t have dreamt of being considered for selection are now in the mix and representing the program at an elite level,” Walsh said. “The addition of Samu is a welcome achievement for the program and underpins one of the program’s objectives – retain, recruit and develop the best Australian rugby players.”

Even during his two-week hotel quarantine, Kerevi worked out on the treadmill and exercise bike to increase his running fitness to be ready to adapt to the shorter, sharper sevens games.

“It’s definitely a lot more (running) than any 15-a-side game but I want to get fit enough to be able to play,” he said. “Whatever minutes I do get, I want to make an impact.”

FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2019 file photo, Australia's Samu Kerevi is tackled by Wales' Jonathan Davies during the Rugby World Cup Pool D game at Tokyo Stadium between Australia and Wales in Tokyo, Japan. Kerevi has been named in the Australian 7's squad for the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko,File)
FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2019 file photo, Australia's Samu Kerevi is tackled by Wales' Jonathan Davies during the Rugby World Cup Pool D game at Tokyo Stadium between Australia and Wales in Tokyo, Japan. Kerevi has been named in the Australian 7's squad for the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko,File)

This will be Fiji’s first tournament in more than a year because of restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand recently hosted a series with the Australian men’s and women’s sevens teams.

The Oceania Championship women’s tournament will include Australia’s Olympic champion squad, New Zealand and Fiji.

It will be the last tournament for all teams to fine-tune for the Tokyo Olympics, where the men’s rugby sevens tournament kicks off on July 26 and will be followed by the women’s competition.

___

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Related Articles

The evolution of taekwando
Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press file Dominique Bosshart won a bronze medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Austtralia.
The waiting Games: Olympians navigate strict rules in Tokyo
FILE - In this April 30, 2020, file photo, U.S. Olympic Team archer Brady Ellison pauses with a compound bow at his range on his farm in Miami, Ariz. The playbook for athletes provides a guide to a
AP source: US adding McGee, Johnson after Love withdrawal Plenty at stake for NBC as COVID Olympics opening looms
The Olympic Rings float on a barge at Odaiba Marine Park as Tokyo prepares for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 16, 2021. The pandemic-delayed games open on July 23 without spectators at most venues. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
IOC's Bach gets mixed reaction in one-day visit to Hiroshima
Protesters gather before International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach visits Hiroshima Memorial Cenotaph Friday, July 16, 2021, in Hiroshima, western Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
No family rule saddens Canadian Olympians
Damian Warner clears a hurdle on his way to winning the Men’s 110m hurdles final at the Canadian track and field Olympic trials, in Montreal, Saturday, June 26, 2021. Warner has always been able to pick his family out of the crowd at pivotal moments in his Olympic career. At the Tokyo Games, however, his family won't be there. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
2 runners dropped from Kenya Olympic team over doping tests Quadarella is among Ledecky's few challengers for Tokyo
FILE - In this July 23, 2019 file photo, Italy's Simona Quadarella poses with her gold medal after winning the women's 1500m freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Simona Quadarella is one of the few swimmers capable of challenging American standout Katie Ledecky in the longest pool races at the Tokyo Olympics. The Italian swam to gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle when Ledecky withdrew from the final due to illness at the 2019 world championships. She also stayed with Ledecky until the very last lap of the 800 in 2019 and came away with silver. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, file)
Diver Jennifer Abel will be on a mission in Tokyo
Canada's Jennifer Abel, competes during the women's open three-metre finals event at the Canada Cup FINA Diving Grand Prix in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, May 12, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Beijing: 2022 Winter Olympics on track despite pandemic
Journalists film a light show at the National Ski Jumping Centre, one of the venues for Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, during a media tour in Zhangjiakou in northwestern China's Hebei province on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
IOC's Bach brings attention to Hiroshima -- some unwanted
FILE - In this 1945 file photo, an Allied war correspondent stands in the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan, just weeks after the city was leveled by an atomic bomb. Many residents of Hiroshima welcome attention to their city from abroad, which IOC President Thomas Bach will bring when he visits on Friday, July 16. But Bach will also bring political baggage — as will his vice president John Coates when he visits Nagasaki the same day — that is largely unwelcome in two cities viewed as sacred by many Japanese. (AP Photo/File)

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

Province looks to boost safety for cannabis workers

Free Press staff 2 minute read 2:56 PM CDT

The province is introducing new legislation it hopes will improve safety for those working in cannabis stores.

“The safety of Manitobans is always a main priority for this government, so when we heard from the Manitobans that work in these stores that this is what was needed to help keep them safe, we listened,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a news release.

The province introduced Bill 56 on Monday, which would amend the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.

The first of two amendments would remove the requirement for cannabis stores to have window coverings on storefronts, which the province said will increase visibility from the outside and ensure workers are not secluded from public view.

Ducks Unlimited Canada announced Tuesday it has acquired a conservation easement for East Meadows Ranch. (Supplied)

Ducks Unlimited makes province’s largest-ever conservation-land purchase

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Preview

Ducks Unlimited makes province’s largest-ever conservation-land purchase

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026

A Manitoba landscape that helped save the Giant Canada goose from extinction has now been permanently protected in the province’s largest conservation land purchase in history.

Ducks Unlimited Canada announced Tuesday in a virtual press conference that it has acquired a conservation easement for East Meadows Ranch, a more than 8,000-acre property near Lundar in Manitoba’s Interlake region, about 80 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, that includes wetlands, native prairie and bur oak savannah.

Ducks Unlimited called the property, now known as the Kennedy Field Station at East Meadows, one of Manitoba’s most ecologically diverse landscapes and said protecting it will contribute to the long-term health of Manitoba’s wildlife, biodiversity and natural heritage.

“The sheer size of the property is not that common in private ownership here in Manitoba, and to have that in a complete connected tract is just something that we’re not likely to see again or come available anytime soon,” said Mark Francis, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s manager of provincial operations.

Read
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026
Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship blocks the Suez Canal almost a week after it got stuck sideways in the crucial waterway, Monday, March 29, 2021. Engineers on Monday

Stuck ship thrusts sleepy Suez Canal village into limelight

Samy Magdy, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Stuck ship thrusts sleepy Suez Canal village into limelight

Samy Magdy, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

I yearn to see the man at the helm. Does he resemble the overgroomed Francesco Schettino, the captain who steered the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia onto the rocks off Tuscany in 2012 and then hastily hopped off the ship? Are they the same man?

Read
Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

No need to follow sister’s lead on nuptial drama

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My older sister has just walked down the aisle as a bride for a third time in Las Vegas. (This makes it one wedding in Manitoba and two in Sin City.) She’s 41 years old now. I refused to fly down there to be her bridesmaid.

I told her to just get me a copy of the video and I would add it to my collection. And she wonders why I have never gotten married?

She’s made a joke of the marriage institution with her $5,000 white wedding in Canada, and her divorce. Let’s not forget the two little Vegas weddings in full over-the-top white dresses.

So how did she have the gall to turn around this week and get after me to marry the guy I’ve been living with for five years, when her weddings are nothing more than costume shows? I said, “What does marriage mean to a woman like you? Your husbands don’t last — you’ve proved that.”

Magic number for marathon man

Eric Willemsen 5 minute read Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019

VIENNA — Roger Bannister, 1954. Eliud Kipchoge, 2019?

Like the sub-four-minute mile, running a marathon in less than two hours had seemed impossible — until Saturday. But this time, there’s an asterisk: Olympic champion Kipchoge performed his feat under conditions so tightly controlled to maximize his success that it won’t appear in the record books.

The 34-year-old Kenyan completed the 42.195 kilometres (26.2 miles) in one hour, 59 minutes, 40.2 seconds at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, an event set up for the attempt.

Ahead of the event, Kipchoge even compared the feat to being “like the first man on the moon.”

Ukraine team members climb on the Olympic Rings to pose for photo in the Olympic Village at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. Backers of Sapporo, Japan, to hold the 2030 Winter Olympics have gotten together to promote their bid. The Japanese city is competing with Salt Lake City, Vancouver, and a Spanish group that wants to return the Olympics to Barcelona. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

All-Japan committee meets to promote Sapporo Olympic bid

Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

All-Japan committee meets to promote Sapporo Olympic bid

Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 10, 2022

TOKYO (AP) — Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee, acknowledged the biggest stumbling block to holding the Olympics is the billions in costs.

However, in another breath on Tuesday at a so-called “All Japan” meeting to promote Sapporo's bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics, he said that if the northern Japanese city lands the Games, little new construction will be needed — a major expense for every Olympics.

“From both inside and outside our country, there are many views about hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Yamashista said, among politicians and business leaders online — and in Sapporo — talking up the bid. “I realize there are also concerns about the huge costs involved.”

The official cost for last year's delayed Tokyo Olympics was $13.6 billion, although government audits suggest it may have been much more. At least 60% was public money.

Read
Tuesday, May. 10, 2022