Eli Langi has been touted as one of Australian rugby’s most dangerous loose-forward prospects, enjoying strong form throughout his last few years in the pathway.
After picking up an injury in Super Rugby U19s, the 18-year-old is using his rehab time to also reflect, as he commences his professional career after being named in the ACT Brumbies’ squad for 2026.
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Langi has been in the Australian pathway system from a young age, signing a youth retention contract supported by the Australian Rugby Foundation, a program designed to get younger players exposed to high-performance pathways earlier.
The 2025 season came with a lot of milestones for the 18-year-old, with his year including travelling to South Africa and captaining the Brumbies U19s side.
“Yeah, definitely,” Langi said to Rugby.com.au when asked if he had an opportunity to reflect on his year. “It was more when I got injured in the U19s, that was a bit of a time to give the body a rest and reflect on the year. I’m probably a bit hard on myself, but I think I can admit it's been an awesome year for me.
“[I had] some amazing experiences overseas with great groups as well, the U19s, the [Australia] U20s, and now being around this professional environment. It's been a full year, but I've enjoyed every experience of it so far.”
Having been announced as a member of the senior squad in November, Langi added that having two weeks in the Super Rugby AUS squad proved particularly beneficial, before the decision was made he would captain the U19s side.
The fortnight has given him a taste of what he can learn in a senior program.
“I spent about two weeks with the Super AUS squad and eventually they were like [you will], be captain for the U19s. When I was in that Super AUS environment, it was amazing," he explained.
“I'm just wanting to learn from these boys and get the most out of my training, and that will hopefully help my game.
“Learning off guys who have been playing for the Brumbies in the back row and the Wallabies, it's just important for me to appreciate that and learn from their knowledge and their experiences, and hopefully one day be competing with them for that jersey.
“I'd be thankful to take the field with any of them.”
While Langi is particularly keen to learn off the likes of Rob Valetini, Allan Alaalatoa and Nick Frost, he is also eager to play with and against several mates in other Super Rugby sides, with a sizeable contingent moving into senior squads across the four franchises.
With time on the sidelines as he undergoes rehab, Langi also hopes to bring these moments of reflection to his game.
“It was definitely something in my books to represent Australia in the U20s,” Langi added. “To play with some new guys who are basically the best in their position, I enjoyed every bit of it with them.
“I made some friends that I'll have for a while now, not just in the Brumbies, [also] Waratahs, Reds and Force.
But, coming back to [the] Brumbies and having those good connections with these guys, I think it's been amazing. [They’re] some of my best mates.
“[Lessons-wise], it's more adapting to the routine.
“It's probably helped me to take more time to look after my body a bit more, as well as early starts and getting in there, making sure I'm doing the work.
“It's honestly an awesome environment at the top level with these guys. They've been doing it for a while, and I'm very eager to just learn.”
With competition strong for loose forward positions, Langi is focusing on putting his head down and working towards that debut cap, which would be another milestone in his journey.
“Hopefully, when the time comes, if I can put that Brumbies jersey on and get a cap, I think it'd definitely be a time of reflection of where I am,” Langi said.
“It's also just knocking off another one of my goals for the future. It's a bit of both. If the time comes, [it would be] a huge, huge step in my career. Hopefully, I can get to that point.”
