Nelson salutes rugby idols

NARRE Warren resident and member of the Victorian under-16 rugby union team Jeremy Nelson came face to face with two of his sporting idols at Federation Square last week.
He met Wallabies player David Fitter and ex-All Blacks’ captain and Crusaders player Reuben Thorne as part of a launch for an upcoming Super 14 rugby union match to be held in Melbourne on 28 January.
Nelson will take part in a curtain-raiser at Olympic Park as part of the pre-season fixture pitting the new West Australian team, the Western Force, against the five-time champions from New Zealand, the Crusaders.
“These guys are awesome. Reuben is one of the best players playing union and Dave is from Melbourne and he’s a new Wallaby,” he said.
“It’s great to have a chance to meet these guys and do some drills with them.”
The Crusaders are looking to establish an Australian base in Melbourne and help grow the game of rugby union at a community level by hosting various player and coach-the-coaches sessions during their stay.
Fitter, a tight head prop, is excited about playing his first match in front of his home crowd since joining the Western Force and becoming a Wallaby in the recent 2005 Northern Hemisphere tour.
With the recent sell-out of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Rugby 7’s finals and the hype surrounding the pending English tour in Melbourne, organisers expect a bumper crowd to attend Melbourne’s Olympic Park.
Tickets are available from Ticketek on 132 849.