Raising Tane: Edmed on the verge of great leap forward

2 days ago 4

Opinion

September 12, 2025 — 3.30pm

The Wallabies are going to miss the rested Len Ikitau — not only does he top the list for most carries in the Rugby Championship, he’s the only Wallaby in the top 10 — but the Test against Argentina in Sydney will revolve around Brumbies-bound Tane Edmed.

The No. 10’s move from the Waratahs will almost certainly be the most important rugby decision he ever makes, and the manoeuvre looks so well thought out it belongs on a chessboard.

It’s a perfect case of the player’s needs meeting the Brumbies’ needs, and if the 25-year-old is to get off the rollercoaster that has been his career to date, then Canberra is the perfect location.

Without seeking to cast stones at the Waratahs — who have their own requirements and were clearly drawn to the leadership qualities of Lawson Creighton — there is no way Edmed should have gone from lighting up the NPC in New Zealand last year to scratching around for game time in Super Rugby Pacific.

The Kiwi province Edmed played for last season, North Harbour, has fallen off a cliff since his departure and, at the time of writing, sits stone-cold last in the NPC.

A lot of that is also down to North Harbour’s concurrent losses of No. 15 Shaun Stevenson and No. 9 Bryn Hall, but Edmed was a major influence in New Zealand provincial rugby last year, and the failure to carry that into Super Rugby Pacific was one of the frustrations of the Waratahs’ season.

While the gap between NPC and Super Rugby Pacific is significant, quality seasons such as the one produced by Edmed have historically been good indicators that a player has the tools to deliver at the next level — and the Brumbies must have been quietly thrilled that Edmed became available after the significant loss of Noah Lolesio.

Edmed is not a lock to wear the No. 10 jersey in Canberra, with the impressive Declan Meredith starting at fly-half for the Brumbies when they begin their Super Rugby AU campaign against the Reds on Sunday, but there is a massive opportunity for him — and his selection for the Wallabies this week hasn’t happened in a vacuum.

Joe Schmidt wouldn’t be investing in Edmed if he didn’t think he was ready to kick on in Super Rugby Pacific next year. That’s a reflection of how he rates the player, but also how well he knows the Brumbies will wrap a lot of quality coaching around him.

Edmed’s integration into Brumbies-ball will be complicated slightly by Ikitau’s season overseas with Exeter and Tom Wright’s ACL injury, but Jarrah McLeod looked like an outstanding prospect for the First Nations and Pasifika XV, and the Brumbies are so well-drilled and so ably run by on-field lieutenant Ryan Lonergan that Edmed’s job will be made easier.

‘A new generation of Wallabies fans is one win away from getting a taste of what Bledisloe hype was like at the turn of the millennium’

Edmed will have to wait a while before he comes up against the Waratahs — the first of their two derbies doesn’t happen until round seven in late March next year — but the obvious backing of both Schmidt and Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham should produce some dividends before then.

Edmed was one bad decision away — ironically from Ikitau — from being put into real space in the 54th minute against the Springboks in Cape Town, which would have allowed him to express an attacking game that went into hibernation during Super Rugby Pacific.

But the capability is there. A statistical head-to-head with Josh Jacomb — widely regarded as the next cab off the rank for the All Blacks at No. 10 — in the NPC last year showed that Edmed was comparable from a ball-in-hand point of view, beating 27 defenders (five fewer than Jacomb) and making 440 metres (68 fewer than Jacomb), despite having 27 fewer carries.

These are the numbers that would have convinced the Brumbies they’ve got their man — despite Edmed’s patchy Super Rugby Pacific performances.

The Test against Argentina on Saturday is arguably the sternest examination yet of the depth of the Wallabies’ revival. They haven’t been given quite enough credit for overcoming an injury list that would have been regarded as disastrous before the season started, but if they get over the line with Edmed at No. 10 and Hunter Paisami at No. 12, it will be another huge step forward.

Pinch yourself, but a whole new generation of Wallabies fans is one more win away from getting a taste of what that Bledisloe hype was like at the turn of the millennium.