When Ryan Lonergan finally ran onto the field at Eden Park last year to become Wallaby No.993, it capped the longest wait of any Australian player in the Super Rugby era — 93 games and nine seasons with the Brumbies before a single Test cap. It is a story of grinding persistence that the 28-year-old halfback says he would not have written himself, but has come to respect.
The Longest Apprenticeship in Australian Rugby
Lonergan made his Brumbies debut in 2017, having already represented Australian Schoolboys in 2016 and captained the Junior Wallabies. On paper, his trajectory looked like that of any emerging star. In reality, what followed was a wait that tested every ounce of his patience.
The Wallabies halfback position was effectively locked up for years by a trio of Jake Gordon, Nic White and Tate McDermott. At one point, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa leapfrogged him for national consideration in 2023. Lonergan earned the unwanted distinction of being labelled Australia's best uncapped player — a tag that, while a compliment in one sense, underscored just how long the road had become.
The next closest players in terms of Super Rugby appearances before a Wallabies debut — Jed Holloway and Sam Talakai — were in the 70-game range, making Lonergan's tally of 93 an outlier by any measure.
"I just tried to keep chipping away, really," Lonergan said. "I've thought I've just got to keep getting better. Maybe more recently, it probably started to annoy me a little bit more, because I thought I was more ready. But early on in those days, I would be in a camp, and I was thinking, 'Oh jeez, actually, I'm still probably not quite ready'."
He admits that in his final couple of seasons before the call-up, the frustration sharpened considerably. "I'm a bit of a realist and I felt I was ready, and I kept missing out. But again, I just kept chipping away," he said.
A Family Milestone — Just Not the One He Expected
Adding a particular edge to Lonergan's journey is the story of his younger brother, Lachlan, a hooker also playing for the Brumbies and Wallabies. Lachlan made his Australia debut five full years before Ryan, despite having joined the Brumbies system three years later. It is a timeline that speaks volumes about the fickleness of selection and the patience required to stay the course.
The brothers both grew up on the family farm in Williamsdale, south of Canberra — the same farm where a 1974 HQ Holden has been sitting in a shed for well over a decade. Ryan bought the car at 16, intending to restore it in time for his school formal. That deadline passed. He reset his target to his younger brother's formal. That passed too.
"No chance," Ryan says of the car's progress. "It's still sitting in the shed. It runs... just. But unfortunately, it is a bit on the backburner. I get a lot of stick for it just sitting in the shed, particularly from my brother."
Now 28, with Lachlan 26, Ryan insists the restoration is nearly done — just not quite finished. "I'll finish it off eventually. We'll get there," he said. It is, perhaps, the perfect metaphor for the man himself.
When Patience Finally Paid Off
The breakthrough came when Nic White retired, opening the door Lonergan had been waiting beside for nearly a decade. His debut against the All Blacks at Eden Park was not just a personal milestone — it was widely seen as a gain for the Wallabies program itself.
"I'd probably rather it not be my story, but I do think it's a good way to do it," Lonergan said. "I think it teaches you a bit of resilience. And then, when you're here, I feel I'm ready."
His father's philosophy, he says, kept him grounded throughout. "My old man's always been a big believer in just keep working hard and good things will come." For Ryan Lonergan, eventually, they did.
