Corey Toole made his international debut for the Wallabies on Saturday, scoring the first try of the Test against the world champion South Africans in Cape Town. Photo: Brumbies.
Former Mater Dei Catholic College student Corey Toole made an impact on his international rugby union debut at the weekend, scoring a try against the World Cup holders, South Africa.
The 2024 Olympian and ACT Brumbies winger was announced in the squad ahead of the second Test match against the Springboks in Cape Town.
The Wallabies were fresh off a record, come-from-behind win against the South Africans at Ellis Park in Johannesburg only a week before Saturday night’s game.
In the lead-up to his debut, Toole said he was excited to play alongside some of his former ACT Brumbies teammates and that following a stint in the extended squad, he was looking forward to hitting the field for the first time.
“I’ve been around the squad for a little while now, so I’ve been quite excited for a little while,” Toole, 25, said.
“But I’ve played a lot of footy with these guys before, like Tom Wright, Lenny and Whitey [Nic White] in the backs. Playing with those boys, I’ve got a lot of confidence and belief that I can go out there this weekend and do my job.
“Looking up to those guys, [they] play so well and are some of the best wingers in the world. [It] definitely gives me a lot of confidence coming into this weekend.”
Toole played his junior rugby growing up in Wagga, where he attended Mater Dei before joining the ACT Brumbies’ Junior Academy in Canberra at age 18.
He made an instant impact on debut despite the Wallabies falling agonisingly short of defeating the world champions twice in as many weeks.
The highlight of the match for the Wallabies came from a fast-thinking try by Toole off a grubber kick from his former Brumbies teammate Nic White. The try came in the eighth minute of the match and tied the score at 6-6.
Despite another valiant outing for the clearly improving Aussie squad, South Africa prevailed 30-22.
Australian coach Joe Schmidt applauded Toole for his performance in a match marred by injuries to his teammates.
“I thought he played really well,” Schmidt said.
“[He] took his opportunity, he was sharp to get that early try in the left-hand corner. I thought he contested the aerial game really well. I thought he carried the ball really strongly.
“He’s not a big man, but he’s powerful. You don’t generate the sort of speed he’s got without being powerful.”
The Aussies will have two weeks to recover and prepare for their next match, against an inform Argentina, who just defeated the world No. 1-ranked All Blacks.
Toole is expected to retain his spot in the side and make his home debut in Brisbane on 9 September.
