Brumbies hooker recommits until 2023
Canberra local Connal McInerney has re-signed with the Brumbies for a further two seasons, keeping the hooker in the Australian capital until the end of 2023.
The 26-year-old made his debut for the Brumbies as injury cover in 2018 and has gone on to become a core member of the side, playing 36 games for the club over four seasons.
A junior Wallaby, McInerney is a classic Australian Capital Territory product story, coming through the school system at Erindale College before joining the Brumbies pathway programs where he honed his craft for the Royals in the John I Dent Cup and the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championship.
McInerney has been sidelined for much of 2021 with a fractured fibula but made a return to the field during the side’s three-game Super Rugby Trans-Tasman tour of New Zealand.
Called into Dave Rennie’s Wallabies training squad at the end of 2020, the future looks bright for McInerney who continues to grow and improve as a player on and off the field in Brumbies colours.
“It’s awesome to be staying here at the Brumbies for at least the next two years,” he said.
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“I grew up in Canberra and dreamed of playing for the Brumbies and to be able to live out that dream every day is something I don’t take for granted.
“I have a lot of goals I want to achieve on the field with this team and I’ll continue to work hard and put everything into the jersey for my teammates, our supporters and for the club.”
Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar said: “We’re delighted to be keeping Con at the Brumbies until at least the end of 2023.
“He’s the classic Brumbies story of someone who earned an opportunity by staying ready and taking that chance with both hands when he got it.
“His growth and maturity as a player and as a person over the last few seasons has been impressive but he knows he’s got plenty of improvement left in him.
“Seeing Con go from a good club player to someone who’s on the national radar is a testament to his dedication and attitude which he’ll no doubt continue to show while here at the Brumbies.”