I want to play in the 2027 World Cup – Samu Kerevi

Urayasu D-Rocks' star centre Samu Kerevi is aiming for a Wallabies recall in 2026 as he aims to represent Australia at a third successive World Cup in 2027.

Kerevi, 32, last played for his country in November 2024 against Wales in the Autumn Nations Tour and was shown 20-minute a red card for a dangerous tackle on Jac Morgan.

Despite impressing last season for basement outfit Urayasu with 14 tries in 16 appearances and beating 76 defenders (third highest in the league), the former Suntory centre missed out on selection for a bumper year for the Wallabies as they hosted the British and Irish Lions ahead of the Rugby Championship and their end-of-year campaign. 

Kerevi scoring against his old club Suntory last season - © JRLO

Kerevi, who has 50 Test caps, featured at the 2019 and 2023 World Cup competitions as well as the Tokyo Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, two of the sport’s leading sevens events.

“I want to be there at the next World Cup,” said Kerevi who played the full 80 minutes in Graham Rowntree's Urayasu’s last-gasp win against Mitsubishi Dynaboars in round one on Saturday.

“I want to be part of the team in 2026 and 2027, until my legs can’t go anymore. There’s only certain things I can control and that’s my performance here at the D-Rocks for the next couple of years.

“I wanted to be part of that (Wallabies) squad this year but obviously they had the results they had and the team they had, so I’ve just been supporting them from afar.”

“If the call-up happens, it happens but if it doesn’t I’ve got to accept how it is."

Kerevi’s humble demeanour stands out when he speaks with gratitude about every opportunity the game has given him.

The barnstorming midfield powerhouse, who moved from Fiji to the Solomon Islands before settling in Brisbane, credits his grandfather, Peceli Virki, who raised him, for instilling in him the importance of humility.

“A big part of it has to do with my grandfather who raised me, he told me to put god first and I think through that I’ve never been tied to the jersey or thought that the jerseys mine. I don’t like to get ahead of myself or have any ego.

“I think the humility comes from knowing there’s some things I can’t control. I want to perform to the best that I can.

“I want to put my hand up for the Wallabies jersey, I’m not settled on what I’ve done in the jersey, I want give more and do more for Australia. We’ve got a home World Cup coming up, who wouldn’t want to be part of that.” 

Kerevi is an integral player at Urayasu

The Wallabies were in Tokyo in October to face Eddie Jones’ Japan and Joe Schmidt’s team, who narrowly defeated the Brave Blossoms 19-15, trained at Urayasu’s world-class training base in Chiba which afforded Kerevi – and teammate Israel Folau  - the opportunity to be around the Australia setup again.

“It was awesome to see them, to go out and have dinner with the lads. It was pretty surreal to have them here and to show them around Japan and our facilities at the D-Rocks training centre."

Kerevi is fully focused on helping to drive his club team forward with the new season now underway and thinks that Urayasu can turn the table on its head this season and go all the way in League One.

"We’re capable of winning League One,” said the ex-Reds stalwart whose younger brother Jone, 27, plays for division one rivals Toyota Verblitz and older brother Josua, 33, plays in the second tier for Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi.

“We’ve got great depth now, we’ve got a lot of young guys coming through now who have last season’s experience behind them and we have seasoned players.

“We know what’s expected. We was at the bottom last season and we don’t want to be there again. We had a lot of close games last season which we just couldn’t close out. The last 20 minutes and the mental preparation has to be the biggest area of growth for us.

“A strong start to a season here, even one game, can really change the complexion of your season. We’ll continue to focus on ourselves and take it one game at a time.” 

Urayasu travel to Damien de Allende and Dylan Riley's Saitama Wild Knights in round two on Sunday 21 December.