It’s been quite 12 months for Tane Edmed.
From his fantastic stint with North Harbor in New Zealand, he made his Test debut with Ireland in December and then struggled to crack Waratah’s lineup under Dan McKellar, Edge is riding a rugby roller coaster.
And then, after Noah Reracio’s neck injury opens up the opportunity for Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies, they may try to turn it over again.
Overlooking Waratah’s start No. 10 in a 21-10 defeat to the Lions last Saturday, he was handed over by Lesquis to lead Adelaide’s stacked Aunz Invitational side before the Test series that starts in Brisbane next week.
Edmed is combined in half with New Zealand’s Folau fakatava, imposing David Havili and Ngani Laumape on the centre, with Shaun Stevenson, Aj Lam and Wallabies veteran Marika Koroibete rounding the back three, and undoubtedly not able to test the figher.
With Schmidt’s team announced on Friday afternoon, Saturday’s hit will be a last chance to impress the national selector, with Habili getting the job done in favor of the One Cap Wallabee if he is called out to Wallabee.
“It was cool to work at Tane,” Havili said of Edmed before Aunz Invitational Match. “I’ve been playing against him for the past four or five years, see how detailed he is around the game and make sure his skill set is amazing.
“One of them (Edmed or James O’Connor) will do their job for them.”
Edmed played just three minutes after his first shortage in the gold jersey in the Wallabies final Test in 2025. It all seemed to go downhill from there, and was first pushed onto the Waratah bench early in the Super Rugby Pacific season. He was then ultimately dropped completely and forced to head to Eastwood for the Sydney Shoot Shield Competition.
His Wallabies’ desires seemed to have all fallen into smoke as he was forced to reassess his obsession with his game, rugby, and to find a new level of maturity.
“I might have been someone who was probably someone who was aligning myself with a little too much identity with rugby. It took me to mature and realize you can’t tell you as a person,” Eddem told reporters in May.
“It was a gratitude idea, and I was still starting to train with my best peers.
“When I saw it that way, those eight weeks were probably the most enjoyable thing I had for my perspective.”
His relegation from Waratah’s 23 was far from the encouragement he received midway through 2024 when he was first selected with the Wallabies training team in June.
“The reason for coming here was purely a development decision, and I’m definitely watching it,” Edmed told Sky Sports’ Jeff Wilson during last year’s NPC season.
“The way they play rugby here… it’s free to flow, more space, and I’m learning a lot from the playgroups and coaches. Plus, it was an unrealistic fun.”
But five months later, the 24-year-old was forced to go outside with Warata coach Dan McKellar and begin reevaluating his performance options at the end of the 2025 season with a fly-half deal. With Lolesio departing for Japan, Brumbies became a logical destination, and McKellar saw something clearly on the redheaded playmakers that weren’t.
And maybe Lolesio’s absence is paving the way for Edmed once more.
Laurecio, originally medically cleared after being transported off the pitch after Newcastle’s whiplash injury to Fiji, returned to hospital on Tuesday to undergo neck surgery, and was subsequently removed from the Lions Series entirely.
At least one squad position is open. But Tom Lina’s recent injury – a hand injury that has recently ruled out him against Fiji, and given concerns about Queenslander’s own head knock, there may still be room for him to narrow his way.
At this stage, Ben Donaldson was the only fly-half certainty for the Wallabies team, with 17 test-cap playmakers being preferred behind Lolesio, but Lynagh’s continued set-off of injuries – and his lack of size could make the 22-year-old team completely disappear.
The experience of 64 Test veteran James O’Connor remains Schmidt’s option, with the 35-year-old most recently lifting the Crusaders and Super Rugby Pacific Trophy in June, but he is one of two players on the Wallabee team and has previous experience.
“I’m good for the wings and I train every day. I don’t know when you’ll be called,” he told the Gbranz podcast.
“If you choose me, I will do my job for you. I will go to war for your brother. That’s all, I will put this body on the line.”
But given Schmidt’s spirit in favor of his youthful teenager, the door remains an ajar for editing, and there may be another twist in the wild 12 months.