Cadeyrn Neville waits on Wallabies, Brumbies contract ahead of 100-game milestone

But even now, as he prepares to play his 100^th Super Rugby game, there's an element of the unknown for the ACT Brumbies' big man.

Because while moving to Canberra resurrected his career - and coincidentally he gets his milestone moment on Good Friday in the city where he hit a critical crossroad six years ago - he is waiting to finalise his Australian rugby future beyond this year.

Not that Neville is worried. He thrives on proving the doubters wrong, which is why there's an extra edge to the clash against the Queensland Reds.

Neville was cast aside by the Reds at the end of 2017, and he spent the next three years banging on the door from Japan to try to find his way back to Super Rugby.

In the end it was the Brumbies who gave him a chance and he has delivered in spades, winning a Super Rugby title, making his Wallabies debut last year and setting his sights on the World Cup this year.

"There was always a desire [to come back] ... I almost came to the Brumbies [in 2018] but they ended up getting some other players," Neville said.

"The year after that I asked the [NSW Waratahs] if they wanted me and they said no. Then I came to the Brumbies the year after.

"It's one of the nice feelings as an athlete when you can prove people wrong, which there are a few people up there [in Queensland] who I'm still currently proving wrong.

"... My original plan was to play in Japan and play Super Rugby in between, that's the way it was put to me by the Reds originally.

"And then the Reds went cold, so I was left with a Japanese deal which is still OK. The Brumbies were the first team to ask me to play again after that and I said yes straightaway.

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"To get a milestone sort of in [Brisbane] the place that you were deemed not good enough, that's pretty good I think."

Neville's journey to 100 Super Rugby games is a classic example of persistence and it's paying off for Australian rugby.

He was in the Brumbies' academy as a rising star, then moved to the Melbourne Rebels in 2012 and was called into a Wallabies training squad in the same year.

"Early on when I came through I was just a freestyling club-rugby player. They like the raw ingredients they saw," Neville said.

Everything appeared on track, but Neville had to wait until last year to earn his first Test cap. He was picked for the series-opener against England last year at the age of 33, making him the oldest player to debut in Wallabies history.

"It's taken a long time to hone into a more specialist position that I play where my roles are refined and heavily reviewed every week," he said.

"I was spinning my wheels in the 60 [games] for a bit and out in the wilderness, but the last 30 or so to get to 100 have probably been the most special.

"I'm probably not alone in the case of coming to the Brumbies and finding the best in yourself. There's just something about this place that fosters individuals and brings out the best in them."

Neville was included in Eddie Jones' Wallabies squad last week and will join the Test group for a World Cup planning camp on the Gold Coast in two weeks.

His second-row partners at the Brumbies - Darcy Swain and Nick Frost - were picked as well, which also complicates the contract situation.

Neville is keen to stay in Canberra and pursue more Wallabies games, but negotiations are ongoing as Jones formulates his plans for the future.

"There's nothing really solid at the moment. But thankfully I'm fit and healthy and the form is good, so that's the ingredients you can put together on your and let the people in suits sort the other things out.

"It's been pretty good [here]. It's hard to say if that's going to pan out because there have been a lot of blokes improve their value, so I guess it becomes harder to fit everyone."

The Brumbies see value in Neville as well. While Swain and Frost are young and learning, Neville has fine-tuned his craft and gives them the physicality they needed after Rory Arnold's departure.

"He's just so valuable," said captain Allan Alaalatoa. "He's been around a couple of Super Rugby teams and overseas as well, so for him to come in, he's one of our leaders.

"He drives the lineout and the maul, and drives standards through his actions. The boys follow him in everything he does. He's really special for us."

SUPER RUGBY

Friday: Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies at Brisbane, 7.35pm.

ACT BRUMBIES: James Slipper, Lachlan Lonergan, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Cadeyrn Neville, Rob Valetini, Rory Scott, Pete Samu, Nic White, Noah Lolesio, Corey Toole, Tamati Tua, Len Ikitau, Andy Muirhead, Tom Wright. BENCH: Billy Pollard, Blake Schoupp, Rhys Van Nek, Darcy Swain, Luke Reimer, Ryan Lonergan, Jack Debreczeni, Ben O'Donnell.

QUEENSLAND REDS: Peni Ravai, Matt Faessler, Phransis Sula-Siaosi, Angus Blyth, Seru Uru, Liam Wright (cc), Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Tate McDermott (cc), Lawson Creighton, Filipo Daugunu, Isaac Henry, Josh Flook, Jordan Petaia, Jock Campbell. BENCH: Richie Asiata, Dane Zander, Zane Nonggorr, Ryan Smith, Jake Upfield, Kalani Thomas, James O'Connor, Taj Annan.

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