{"id":565324,"date":"2026-03-26T09:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/565324\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:28:15","slug":"why-brumbies-back-rower-charlie-cale-had-to-leave-sydney-to-get-a-gig-after-being-rejected-by-nsw-waratahs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/565324\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Brumbies back-rower Charlie Cale had to leave Sydney to get a gig after being rejected by NSW Waratahs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iain<\/p>\n

March 26, 2026 \u2014 6:30pm<\/p>\n

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Charlie Cale is, by most measures, pretty good at rugby.<\/p>\n

The Brumbies back-rower is tall and powerful, but can also out sprint most of the backs when he really winds up.<\/p>\n

Running wide and with wheels that regularly embarrass cover defenders, Cale has scored eight tries in five games this season, and leads the Super Rugby Pacific try-scorer\u2019s tally.<\/p>\n

But he also has the goods when it comes to things that don\u2019t make the highlight reels. Cale also leads the competition for lineout takes and is the Brumbies\u2019 top tackler, too. He is also seventh in the competition for tackles, but with the highest percentage of successful tackles in the top 10 (91 per cent).<\/p>\n

In Super Rugby\u2019s new fantasy comp, Cale has the highest points total and game average, and is also the most-picked player. More than half of the 50,000 entrants \u2013 who are primarily Kiwis \u2013 have Cale in their team.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an impressive yield. But here\u2019s the scary part, or perhaps more accurately for Australian rugby, the thrilling part: many believe Cale is not even close to reaching his potential.<\/p>\n

\"CharlieCharlie Cale scores one of his two tries against the Western Force in round one.Getty Images<\/p>\n

This season is the first time he\u2019s been healthy in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first season where I came into it feeling, well, you don\u2019t always feel 100 per cent, but I was at least feeling at my best,\u201d Cale says.<\/p>\n

Cale, who will run out for the Brumbies against rivals NSW on Friday night, is in his fourth Super season and made his Wallabies debut in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But in nearly all his years as a professional, Cale\u2019s natural talent has been shackled by injury. The Brumbies back-rower was stymied by a chronic shoulder problem in 2024 and then a back stress fracture that sidelined him for most of 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sucked, but I\u2019m hoping the silver lining is I now know how important my body is,\u201d Cale said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, I was probably a bit naive to just think that I would be always fine. You never really think major injuries are going to happen to you. But I\u2019ve got to do more because my body isn\u2019t as weathered or naturally flexible. I\u2019ve learned I\u2019ve had to do a lot of stuff around flexibility and core work that I probably would half-ass back in the day. Now it\u2019s standard, and it\u2019s got me to a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 25, Cale\u2019s belated rise to stardom has confirmed his \u201clate bloomer\u201d status: he made his first rep rugby team at the age of 19.<\/p>\n

Born in Dubbo, Cale moved to Sydney at the age of one and grew up in Beecroft playing rugby and cricket, and for a while it was probably the latter that was more seriously pursued. He played Green Shield rep cricket (under-16s) for Northern Districts \u2013 \u201cI just knew the coach\u201d \u2013 but more as a big-hitting batter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I was tall, everyone assumed I was a fast bowler,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then I would run in and bowl dodgy leg-spin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cale was a back until year 11 at the King\u2019s School, when he shot up and moved to the second row. He played in the school\u2019s first XV in 2018 along with some handy types called Joe Suaalii and Will Penisini, and they won the title. Cale made the GPS Third XV, but nothing higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t necessarily dirty [about not making junior rep teams] because I didn\u2019t think I was good enough anyway,\u201d he says. \u201cRugby was something that I loved, but I probably didn\u2019t really see much of the future in it.\u201d <\/p>\n

When he filled out and got more explosive speed playing colts for Eastwood, however, the ball started rolling. Cale made the Sydney under-19s in 2019 and was picked for the Junior Wallabies in 2020 \u2013 although they didn\u2019t play due to COVID.<\/p>\n

\"CharlieCharlie Cale competes for the ball in one of two Tests he played against Wales in 2024.Getty Images<\/p>\n

But with peers such as Will Harris and Jeremy Williams preferred, the Waratahs didn\u2019t come knocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in the Gen Blue squad for three months or so, but I had a little ankle injury, and then it kind of got to that stage when they ask you to come back or not. And then they never asked me back,\u201d Cale says.<\/p>\n

Brumbies assistant coach Laurie Fisher was very interested, however, and in 2021, Cale was recruited to Canberra on an academy deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Brums were the only team that showed interest \u2013 the Tahs didn\u2019t want me,\u201d Cale recalls.<\/p>\n

\"BrumbiesBrumbies players celebrate a winning try by Charlie Cale against the Blues.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in it, you have those little thoughts, oh, your home town doesn\u2019t want you, but not for long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very, very happy that I landed where I landed. I don\u2019t hold any grudges or anything like that. I absolutely love Canberra. I f—ing love the Brumbies. It couldn\u2019t have worked out better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not for the Waratahs, mind you. Tahs officials usually shrug and give a \u2018You can\u2019t keep them all\u2019, but Cale was soon providing hindsight migraines at Daceyville.<\/p>\n

He made his debut in Super Rugby for the Brumbies in 2023 and became a mainstay at No.8 in 2024. Cale was also a shock call-up to the Wallabies in Joe Schmidt\u2019s first Test series in July 2024, and played his first game in gold against Wales.<\/p>\n

Cale started in his second Test a week later, but having carried a shoulder injury all year, it was decided he should have surgery. Cale returned in the summer, but niggling back soreness got progressively worse in the early stages of 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was struggling,\u201d he says. \u201cI was getting laughed at because we\u2019d come out to warm up and I\u2019d be on the side, in the foetal position, getting like heat on my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cale was diagnosed with a stress fracture and he missed almost the entire season.<\/p>\n

Rehab was a lonely existence and Cale admits he leaned on the Brumbies\u2019 \u201cfamily\u201d, in particular James Slipper. The veteran prop serves as an older brother figure to Cale and Brumbies teammate Billy Pollard, say club insiders.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI would never say this to his face, but he\u2019s just like … he\u2019s just the best,\u201d Cale says of Slipper.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s funny, he\u2019s charming, he\u2019s smart \u2013 he\u2019s got it all. I\u2019d never say that to him, of course.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBut on the flip side of that, he has all these milestones and everyone thinks he\u2019s a great bloke. But me and Billy, we know some things about him. So I feel like we keep him grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cale is known as a comic at the Brumbies and often has elaborate pranks in the works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say some things that I probably shouldn\u2019t,\u201d Cale says. \u201cAnd my comedic timing is a little bit off sometimes. So I may interrupt the coach when he\u2019s talking every now and get a laugh, but it can be detrimental to my cause. I probably have to work on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Cale\u2019s numbers, you get the sense a Stephen Larkham stare is probably the extent of his punishment.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve still got what it takes\u2019: Kellaway opens up on uncertain future<\/p>\n

Jonathan Drennan<\/p>\n

Waratahs winger Andrew Kellaway admits he\u2019s still fighting to prove he has what it takes to play for coach Dan McKellar, with his future in NSW and rugby uncertain beyond this season.<\/p>\n

After figuring in three Tests for the Wallabies in November, the 30-year-old has played just 60 minutes of Super Rugby this season. Kellaway will have another chance to impress when he returns to the line-up for Friday\u2019s clash with the Brumbies in Canberra, but admits he may need to reconsider his future if he fails to become a regular fixture in the team.<\/p>\n

\"AndrewAndrew Kellaway scores a try against Argentina last year.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cComing back to Sydney [from the Rebels ahead of last season] was solely about making sure my young family was around my extended family and my wife\u2019s extended family,\u201d Kellaway said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the most respect, rugby was an afterthought in that decision and I was just lucky enough that the Waratahs are where I\u2019m from and it\u2019s a great club and a club that I love very much,\u201d Kellaway said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for the next 12, 24, 36 months, I don\u2019t know. Completely truthfully, I haven\u2019t made a decision on what I want to do … I haven\u2019t had a great deal of opportunity this year, and I\u2019d like to get back on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, really, it\u2019s about proving to myself and some people in the building here [at the Waratahs] that I\u2019ve still got what it takes to be at this level \u2013 and once I\u2019ve had a chance to do that, then we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AndrewAndrew Kellaway in his one game of the season for the Waratahs against the HurricanesGetty Images<\/p>\n

Since his emergence as a schoolboy star at the Scots College and progression to professional rugby, Kellaway has rarely dealt with an extended period out of a match-day squad when fit.<\/p>\n

But after the Hurricanes\u2019 40-point win over NSW<\/a> in Sydney, Kellaway was dropped for next week\u2019s game against the Reds.<\/p>\n

While his teammates limbered up at Suncorp Stadium, Kellaway took a four-hour bus trip down the Hume Highway to tangle with a Brumbies reserves squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was tough, it was certainly different to the game I played before that, or the game before that in Dublin [for the Wallabies] in front of 50,000 people,\u201d Kellaway.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s a different approach, a different perspective … what do you do? I could sit there and mope and say how bad it is to sit on the bus for four hours, play a game and get back on the bus, but nobody wins out of that, and especially not me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to decide at some point that I\u2019m going to do the best I can, and if that\u2019s not good enough in the eyes of the coach … then that\u2019s all I can do, and I\u2019m at peace with that. I certainly feel extremely content and extremely satisfied with what I\u2019ve put out [in training], and at the end of the day, I don\u2019t make the [selection] decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

After three successive losses, the Waratahs face the Brumbies in a potentially season-defining clash. Having missed last week\u2019s loss to the Blues due to a cork, Kellaway understands the importance the game now takes for the Waratahs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a tricky spot,\u201d Kellaway said. \u201cWe probably haven\u2019t had the run of games we\u2019ve liked. We would like to have won at least two out of those three last three games, and certainly we were in a position to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ve got to be careful. We can\u2019t go into this all emotional and make it more than what it is because we\u2019ve got a job to do. We\u2019ve got to focus on really stringing a performance together, which we haven\u2019t done yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> live and exclusive on Stan Sport<\/a>.<\/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>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 26, 2026 \u2014 6:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-565324","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\/565324","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=565324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}