Ruediger looking forward to another year in green and gold
South Australian Wayne Ruediger is hopeful of an exciting year as part of the 2021 BCiB Australian men’s Jackaroos squad.
After making his Jackaroos debut 2012, Ruediger has racked up 190 international appearances.
Wayne said it is “always good to be in the squad”.
“Given COVID and everything else that has been happening, and me having a knee operation, it has been pretty quiet,” he said.
“It is always a really good feeling to get your name called out and to be in the squad with a great group of great of players.”
At 44 years of age, Wayne is the oldest member of the 2021 squad, with Queenslander Barrie Lester the next oldest at 38, but he said he isn’t too fussed about being the senior member of the group.
“It doesn’t really worry me whatsoever, age is no barrier in this game,” he said.
“They are a great bunch of young boys and they are just great to be around.”
Wayne, who is a member at Grange, is hopeful of a much busier calendar this year after COVID wreaked havoc with scheduled events in 2020.
“There are lots of events coming up, so it is just a matter of which ones go ahead and which ones don’t,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to BPL in the next month, but whether that goes ahead is still another question.
“There are also things like the Australian Open, and the Australian Championships which we missed out on last year due to COVID, which was a shame because it is a great event.
“Hopefully the SA boys we can put a good side together and we can give it a good crack.”
Wayne was full of praise for the amount of talented young players rising through the ranks within South Australian bowls.
“You have got guys like Tyson Wilson, Nathan Black and even Nathan Pedersen, who isn’t that old, but has been around for years and you won’t get too many with better records than his,” he said.
“There is plenty of young talent floating around in South Australia.”
