NSW lock Miles Amatosero is expecting Queensland rivals to bait him into a hot-headed response in the Waratahs’ Super Rugby season opener on Friday night, but he says he will respond “through the laws of the game”.
That is the confident prediction of new Waratahs skipper Matt Philip, who’ll partner Amatosero in the second row against the Reds at Allianz Stadium, and believes 2026 will be a breakout year for the 23-year-old forward.
Miles Amatosero tangles with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto in the last Waratahs-Reds clash, in round 13 last year.Credit: Getty Images
Amatosero was rushed back into the Waratahs’ starting side despite having spent a fortnight exiled from the team, and the NSW training facility, as part of a suspension for his role in a pre-season training skirmish with teammate Angus Scott-Young in January.
The 125kg, 203cm lock landed five blows on Scott-Young, which resulted in the recruit suffering a fractured eye-socket.
Entering his third season with the Tahs after returning from Clermont in France, Amatosero is an aggressive lock who plays on the edge. But he has also often fallen on the wrong side of that balancing act, and become entangled in confrontations on the field.
Among rival Super Rugby sides, Amatosero has a reputation as being vulnerable to the niggle which can result in penalties. And that reputation will have grown after the Waratahs’ pre-season dust-up.
There’s no doubt rival Reds lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto will look to test Amatosero’s discipline and focus on Friday night. The pair were involved in a push-and-shove when the Tahs and Reds last met in Sydney last year.
“For sure there’ll be words around [the training fight], but I think he’s going to be prepared for that, he knows what’s coming and we’re prepared for that,” Philip said.
“I’ve spoken to him about it, I’ve said ‘this is what’s going to come’, and he goes, ‘yep, that’s fine’.
“He’s ready to deal with it. I don’t think he’s going to have any issues on that front, and he’ll show his reaction through the laws of the game of rugby.”
Miles Amatosero (right) squares up to a Crusaders’ opponent.Credit: Getty Images
Amatosero did not play in the Waratahs’ two trial wins over the Reds, and wasn’t allowed on site at NSW Rugby training for two weeks. The condition was inserted into Amatosero’s sanction by Rugby Australia and the Waratahs, which was set at a four-week suspension but with the capacity to be halved if he completed counselling. Amatosero and Scott-Young met last Friday to bury the hatchet.
Amatosero trained away from the Waratahs and Philip said there was no doubt about his readiness to play.
“He obviously did a lot of work away from the club for that two-week period, credit to him, he’s come back in really good shape and obviously well enough to earn that starting role,” he said.
“We’ve got full faith in him here that he’s going to do his job, he’s a big physical man, I’m excited to play alongside him, I love playing with players like that.”
Amatosero was outstanding for NSW against the British and Irish Lions last year, and McKellar believes the Sydney-raised big man is a future Wallaby.
“He’s got huge potential, he’s obviously a big man, but he’s athletic and he’s got a good engine, and he’s obviously got that aggressive side to him as well, which can’t really be taught as a lock,” Philip said. “He’s got a huge future and I think this will be his breakout year, I don’t think [the suspension] going to stop him.”
Philip also hailed rookie flanker Clem Halaholo, who will debut at no.6 on Friday night. The 22-year-old’s selection came after he was informed by coach Dan McKellar at the end of last season that his contract wasn’t renewed, and Halaholo was farewelled in June on Tahs’ social channels.
But he was given another shot for the Super Rugby AUS competition in September and October, and took his second chance. Halaholo was outstanding in the second-tier competition, and was among the Tahs best during the pre-season.
“I’ve seen a huge switch flip from Clem, [from] before the Super Aus stuff where he probably didn’t take his training as seriously, compared to now where he’s training as hard as he can every day,” Philip said.
“He’s a natural footballer, he’s a great carrier of the ball, and he gets through a lot of work around the park for us, so I’m super happy for Clem. It’s a pretty cool story, someone who didn’t have a contract four months ago and now is getting his Super Rugby debut in a NSW vs Queensland match at Allianz Stadium, what a story.”
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