The Waratahs missed the finals. Now an ex-Wallaby of theirs is off to the Brumbies
Creighton came to the Waratahs this season after being recruited from the Reds, and Bowen, 21, has been at the Waratahs for three years. He debuted in 2023 and has 12 caps for the Waratahs, but only two as a starter.
The son of former Wallaby Scott Bowen is the standout No.10 at Shute Shield level and along with Teddy Wilson, steered Easts to a drought-breaking premiership last year.
Promising Junior Wallabies No.10 Joey Fowler, who is in the Waratahs academy, played in tour matches and trials for NSW in the off-season.
The Tahs have active been in the market searching for additional options at five-eighth, according to informed sources, and discussions were held with the Tahs' 2014 premiership playmaker Bernard Foley, and with Will Harrison, who are both playing in Japan.
Foley spoke with Joe Schmidt about the prospect of a move home, and the Wallabies coach said on the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast last week that he'd had contact with the former Test No.10.
But after Foley steered Kubota to a League One final last week, the veteran No.10 chose to extend his contract with the Japanese club for another year.
Harrison is also unlikely to return to the Tahs after initially giving it some consideration, according to informed sources.
The loss of Edmed will bring a spotlight on the Waratahs' high turnover of young five-eighths. Edmed came through the Waratahs' junior system with Harrison and Ben Donaldson, and the trio were seen as central to the future. But after Donaldson was let go to the Western Force, NSW focused on Harrison and Edmed in 2023. All three have now departed.
As with previous seasons, Edmed found himself in and out of the Waratahs' starting side this year.
On the back of a successful stint with North Harbour in the NPC last year, Edmed won a call-up to the Wallabies' squad for their spring tour, and he made a Test debut off the bench in the final Test against Ireland, albeit lasting only three minutes due to a head knock.
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Edmed started the year in the NSW No.10 jersey, and there was expectation he would push Lolesio, Donaldson and Tom Lynagh for a Wallabies role against the Lions. But Edmed was benched behind Creighton after three rounds, and he even found himself out of the Tahs' squad altogether mid-season, playing club rugby for Eastwood.
Edmed eventually won a recall but was benched again in the final round behind Bowen.
With Lolesio departing to play for Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, the Brumbies now have Edmed and Declan Meredith on board for next season, and possibly Jack Debreczeni as well. The veteran is weighing up playing on or retiring and moving into coaching.
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"Nothing really changes for us in how we play our game right now; we know our game works and it's very effective and efficient so we just have to back our systems in place and game plan. "If everyone just does their job to the best of their ability, hopefully we put ourselves in a good position to get a good result." Lolesi played a composed game at No.10, pulling the right strings as his team mixed up their attack between forward play and using their sizzling pace out wide. Dependent on the result, Saturday's match could be the 25-year-old's last in Brumbies colours, with Lolesio taking his playing career to Japan. "I'm giving everything into this game this weekend, knowing that potentially it could be my last," he said. "I'm not going to leave any stone unturned ... not just for myself, but for this special organisation that have been so good to me ever since I came to Canberra as a 17-year-old." With 23 caps, the Test flyhalf was first coached by Dan McKellar before Larkham took over at the ACT side in 2022. While he may not have the natural talent of Larkham, who helped Australia fill its trophy cabinet including the 1999 World Cup, Lolesio said he'd grown as a player under "Bernie". "He's been awesome, ever since he arrived, he's just always been telling me to back whatever I see on the field," Lolesio said. "Just simple cues and triggers on how to manipulate the defence with quick ball or slow ball. "I've been really enjoying my time, especially the one-on-one chats with Bernie just on how I can develop my game as a 10 and help the team around as well. "I think if you look at my game from when I first debuted to where my game's at now, I think I've taken huge strides as more just a game manager than anything else. "I take serious pride in leading the team around the best I can, doing the best for the team, so having Bernie there at the same time, it helps massively."
