‘The World Cup’s behind us’ – Fraser McReight looks for ‘clean slate’ after tough 2023

Wallabies loose forward Fraser McReight is looking to start on a “clean slate” in 2024 after a challenging year with the Australian side.

The year was not only filled with media controversy around Eddie Jones and the Wallabies but also poor performances from the team that only managed two wins under the veteran coach as they failed to make it out of the pool stage at the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever.

Much has changed in Rugby Australia’s landscape since, with Jones resigning from his post whilst Hamish McLennan was forced out of his role as chairman of the governing body.

Moving on

For McReight it is back to the Reds where he hopes to kick 2024 off on a different note in their Super Rugby Pacific season.

“The World Cup’s behind us now, with Eddie and all that chat – I wish him the best, but for us it’s done,” he said.

“It’s a clean slate … (it’s) refreshing to come back to the Reds after there was this big hype to a point.”

Learnings

Despite the horrors of the World Cup, McReight insists he still learnt from the experience and will build from it.

“It depends on the player you ask and what their mindset is and how they’re built,” he said.

“I know what they’ve done to me and I’m super eager to get back on the park and rip in with the Reds.

“It was a tough campaign, definitely, but a good stage to grow and learn.

“You only know once you get put out there how it’ll go, and personally I was happy.”

Change in Queensland

It’s also a period of change for the Reds who welcome Les Kiss as the new head coach and he is looking forward to getting going and working towards a productive system.

“First thing you need is good people, strong governance and alignment in the right areas, servicing what the players and coaches need at every level of the game,” Kiss said.

“If you talk to people in the Irish system, the success they’ve had is from good people working together and getting a program that’s people-centric,” he said.

“It can’t be about power and control, it should be about getting the right things in place.

“Get the common ground, work through the differences and do things that matter and get results we need.”

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