Physicality has become imperative in international rugby and few young sensations possess enough of it in those early days
With only 11 Super Rugby appearances under his belt, 19-year-old Jordan Petaia is in the Australia squad. In a group that has more caps than any previous World Cup squad, an average of 45 per man, he’s a bolter. Yet to get on the field and gain a cap – that will probably occur in the games against Georgia and Uruguay – he has been on everyone’s radar since his Brisbane State high school days. It is great to see and fills us with excitement that we may be witnessing the birth of a new rugby star. It also got me thinking. Where are the teen sensations? Are there any more beyond the very rare exception of the young Queenslander?
I remember coaching England Sevens when they faced a 17-year-old James O’Connor playing for the Aussies and he was full of risk and skill. He was to earn the first of many full international caps a few months later. Although he has put on a fair bit of bulk over the decade since, he was not the biggest then and I would question whether he would have got the opportunity so quickly if he was to emerge now.
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