NSW big man Will Skelton turned down Sir Graham Henry and All Blacks chance to become a giant for the Waratahs

A YEAR ago, with no Super Rugby caps to his credit, a World Cup-winning coach tried to sign him NSW giant Will Skelton. For New Zealand.

Waratahs lock Will Skelton has a big future ahead of him. Picture: Phil Hillyard

IT says plenty about Will Skelton that one year ago, with his Super Rugby debut still two months away, a World Cup-winning coach teed up a meeting in Sydney to sign him. For New Zealand.

It says just as much that Skelton turned Sir Graham Henry down.

“I had had half a pre-season with the Waratahs boys, so I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else,” Skelton says.

With a New Zealand birth certificate and dimensions that’d scare Tokyo if he emerged from the surf, the 2.03m and 137kg lock popped on the radar of Henry and John Kirwan after Skelton played for NSW in a January trial in Auckland.

The soft sell about a future across the ditch in blue and black was done over coffee a day before the Tahs beat the Blues in March.

Skelton is reticent to make a big deal of his decision but doesn’t regret it.

“At the time I was playing Shute Shield so for someone who hadn’t really been in the professional scene, it was flattering,” Skelton says.

“But I was loving the culture and loving the boys, and the camaraderie. I don’t think I could leave.”

There haven’t been too many but Skelton’s call to stay with NSW could, in time, prove to be one of Australian rugby’s most significant trans-Tasman wins in recent times.

Though still raw and mostly unshaped — and did we mention big? — the 22-year-old’s prospects have good judges forecasting an equally huge future in sky blue and Wallaby gold.

After he was finally blooded by Michael Cheika last year against the Stormers, Skelton made an immediate impact; carrying, defending and hitting rucks with every ounce of his heavyweight frame.

News_Image_File: Waratahs lock Will Skelton has a big future ahead of him. Picture: Phil Hillyard

He finished the season as a Waratahs regular and with the Skelton name murmured around Europe as well, following a menacing performance for NSW against the Lions.

“He has the most exciting potential of Australian second rowers in a long time,” says former Wallaby Brendan Cannon.

“He’s huge, and he can actually play the game.”

Skelton is so large he has to wear XXL jerseys and buy size 18 NFL cleats off the internet, but believe it or not, he wasn’t the biggest kid on the block growing up in Auckland.

“I was always tall but there probably one or two guys bigger,” Skelton says.

“As I grew, when I was 11-12-13, that’s probably when I shot up.”

Like his mates Skelton held a dream of playing NRL then, and even after moving to Sydney at the age of 10, league remained his main game.

A brush with the Waratahs at the age of 17 changed everything.

Weighing 142kg and playing the odd rugby game for his Hills Sports High team, Skelton posed in a photo for The Daily Telegraph with a teenage forward pack that outweighed the NSW pack.

It was a good laugh but his manager at rugby league club Wentworth Magpies saw the pic and told Skelton: “Seriously, rugby is your future mate.”

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Skelton joined Sydney Uni and soon enough — did we mention he’s big? — Skelton was spotted and picked up by the ARU junior academy system. Injuries delayed progress but after trimming down moving furniture, Skelton turned up at Waratahs training again, this time as opposition fodder in late 2012.

Cheika did the standard double-take and within weeks Skelton was invited into the NSW sheds. Six months later he made a Super Rugby debut.

It was a rapid rise and though he’s now Australia’s biggest pro footballer, Skelton is the first to admit he is a long way from the finished product.

“I think I have grown as a rugby player over the course of the year. I remember my debut I was a bit raw, just not knowing my role the best I could,” Skelton reflects.

News_Image_File: Will Skelton takes on the Reds defence.

“I am still learning, and that’s what good about the Tahs. Our coaching staff and trainers identify and help us with what we need to work on.”

Being a big unit is one thing — you’ll find plenty in subbies rugby — but where Skelton differs is he understands his “gift”. Put plainly, he is no gentle giant.

“If I can throw the weight around, I will. I look at it like there are guys who are fast, and players who are strong. I see it as a waste of time if I didn’t use this gift as an advantage,” Skelton says.

Skelton has soft hands for a big man, the smarts to rumble through rolling mauls and swallows a nice handful of angry pills pre-game.

But it’s his willingness to work that got the attention of Henry, and prompted Cheika to continue backing him.

“You push yourself hard, to those limits where you think you are going to stop,” Skelton says of fitness for a 140kg athlete.

“You find yourself in the dark place, but that’s where your teammates come in. One word of encouragement and you just push through.”

The best guess is Skelton’s size — and that of his two “little” brothers — comes down to a marriage of big families. Dad Reynold, Mum Alofa and their brothers and sisters were all tall, Skelton explains.

But brace yourself: 19-year-old Cameron Skelton is even bigger than Will at 145kg and 2.05m, and thankfully is already tucked away in the Waratahs under 20s program.

Logan Skelton is only 13 but, as seen in a recent social media pic doing the rounds, is bigger than most of the Waratahs forwards already.

“He thinks he’s famous,” Skelton laughs.

News_Image_File: Skelton wraps up Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham during a trial clash in Albury. Picture: Colleen Petch.

Setting an example for his brothers is a big priority for a fast-maturing Skelton, who juggles studies for a commerce degree with his rugby.

“My parents always taught me to lead by example and that’s important to me,” Skelton says.

“I never force anything upon them but Cameron just wanted to play rugby when he saw me travelling a bit. I am trying to get Logan to have a run but there’s no pressure on him.”

Cannon, who coined the nickname “Eclipse” in commentary when Skelton snuffed out the sun on a Western Force ballrunner last year, believes Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie would be wise to call up the youngster this year. Not only to finalise his eligibility and head off the next Kiwi admirer, but to unlock the as-yet untapped half into Skelton’s vast potential.

Throw this at Skelton and he shakes his head.

“I know my ability and I know if I work hard I can accomplish my goals and dreams. But as far as people saying you have heaps of potential, you can’t measure yourself on potential,” Skelton says.

“It’s how hard you work each week and what you do each week.

“This week is the only one that matters. Next week means nothing.”