{"id":562717,"date":"2026-03-25T05:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/562717\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T05:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:59:16","slug":"when-are-we-going-to-learn-mckellar-fears-wallabies-hype-could-derail-brumbies-bolter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/562717\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018When are we going to learn?\u2019 McKellar fears Wallabies hype could derail Brumbies bolter"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 25, 2026 \u2014 3:40pm<\/p>\n

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Waratahs coach Dan McKellar has issued a blunt warning about calls for in-form Brumbies playmaker Declan Meredith to be rushed into the Wallabies, saying Australian rugby\u2019s obsession with \u201cdiamonds in the rough\u201d leads to unfair pressure and the potential destruction of promising careers.<\/p>\n

McKellar\u2019s strong comments came as Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham also tried to pour cold water on the Wallabies chat around Meredith, amid concern the spotlight on his five-eighth will be a distraction before the derby with the Waratahs on Friday.<\/p>\n

\"DanDan McKellar has urged caution with in-form Brumbies playmaker Declan MeredithGetty Images<\/p>\n

McKellar, who worked with Meredith when he coached at the Brumbies, believes the history of Australian rugby proves a playmaker cannot be rushed into Test football without the necessary experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just get nervous for the individual when all of a sudden he\u2019s played a couple of good games, we start throwing in Wallaby chat again,\u201d McKellar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen are we going to learn that that sort of pressure on young men doesn\u2019t help them? It\u2019s been going on for I don\u2019t know how many years now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could rattle off 10 names of players who have played a couple of good games (and get overhyped).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to find the diamond in the rough. Declan\u2019s been good, but I think as a game we need not to apply pressure on him and think that he\u2019s going to be the next big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DeclanDeclan Meredith\u2019s ability as a running playmaker on display against the RedsGetty Images<\/p>\n

Meredith has become a hot topic in recent weeks after performing brilliantly for the Brumbies in the No.10 shirt, in which he steered the ACT side to four wins, including three over New Zealand sides.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has rocketed into the frame for a spot in the Wallabies squad this year, particularly as he is keeping incumbent Test No.10 Tane Edmed on the bench at the Brumbies.<\/p>\n

Meredith\u2019s rise has been both sudden and years in the making, after the Cairns product moved to Canberra in 2019 on a Brumbies development deal. After starring in ACT club rugby, he made his debut for the Brumbies in 2023.<\/p>\n

Meredith has started only nine of his 29 Super games in four seasons, mostly being used as a utility back from the bench before this year.<\/p>\n

But after Noah Lolesio departed the Brumbies last season, and with Edmed only joining the club from the Waratahs early this year, Larkham turned to Meredith to fill the No.10 shirt.<\/p>\n

With maturity borne of many years in the Brumbies system, Meredith has been among the club\u2019s best players and the form has put him in the conversation of a Wallabies call-up, along with Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving watched him at Brumbies training, he [Meredith] also is quite commanding in the way that he runs the team, in that others are looking for direction,\u201d Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said on RugbyHeaven last week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cDeclan\u2019s done a longer apprenticeship than most coming into Super Rugby, some of the other guys, they come in very young and it\u2019s hard to see the wood for the trees sometimes at 10, with that step up and pressure and when you get to Test level, that wood\u2019s a lot thicker.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving had those experiences and built on them, I think it just allows him to see more, and stay calmer, and be more decisive.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Meredith said he believes he can step up: \u201cI think I would be ready for it [Wallabies], but obviously it\u2019s definitely a massive step up to go from club to Wallabies level.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Jack<\/a><\/p>\n

But Larkham tried to dampen the hype on Wednesday by declining to comment on Meredith\u2019s chances to make the Wallabies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Declan\u2019s very much focused on us at the moment … there are a lot of distractions coming into this week for the players,\u201d Larkham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think talk of Wallaby selection is one of those distractions that build up to the game … first and foremost, they\u2019ve got to be firmly focused on the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message is not going to help you perform any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKellar said Tahs No.10 Jack Debreczeni, the 32-year-old who moved from the Brumbies last year, was a good example of someone who\u2019d been burdened with the \u201cnext Stephen Larkham\u201d tag as a promising young player in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that pressure was put on him. He had some tough times throughout his career. He has, over time, developed into now what is a very calm, steady influence. He thinks like a coach,\u201d McKellar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJack, if he makes a mistake now, he can flush it straight away. Whereas, as a young player, he probably struggled with that. Young players do struggle with that pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

In team news, Andrew Kellaway has been recalled for the Waratahs and Ollie Sapsford also returns from injury for the Brumbies.<\/p>\n

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\"IainIain Payten<\/a> is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"JonathanJonathan Drennan is a sports reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 25, 2026 \u2014 3:40pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-562717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}