Waratahs sign Jack Maddocks from Rebels after man tried to break into his mum’s home
Jack Maddocks was due to play this season at the Rebels, but an unexpected event led to him returning home to Sydney.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A burglar convinced Jack Maddocks he had to return to Sydney.
In 2018, the Wallabies star signed a contract extension with Melbourne Rebels tying him down until the end of 2020.
However, midway through last year Maddocks was rocked after a man tried to break into his mother’s Randwick home.
The incident set off a chain of event that led to Maddocks returning to his childhood Sydney home, playing sevens for Australia and then signing a one-year deal with NSW Waratahs, who had earlier last year released Israel Folau.
Now, Maddocks will make his first start for NSW in Melbourne on Friday night against his former teammates – many who he wasn’t able to see face-to-face before his relocation.
Watch every match of the 2020 Vodafone Super Rugby Season LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
“I was loving my time in Melbourne, but there were a few circumstances back home that changed,” Maddocks told Rugby Central.
“From a personal point of view I was keen to be closer to home.
“In the last few years my parents separated while I was in Melbourne, I’ve got a girlfriend in Sydney, so it was hard being away from home for those reasons.
“One time last year I was training and mum called me, she was rattled, she said ‘Someone just tried to break in’.
“Being away in those sorts of circumstances, it was hard.
“I made up my mind that I was keen to be closer to home.
“When I was growing up you take those sort of things for granted, there was a bit going on so I was keen to make the move back.
“I left [Melbourne] just before the end of last Super Rugby season, I never actually went back down there even though I was contracted until early January.
“On the outside looking in it happened very late, but it didn’t happen at the drop of a hat, it was months and months in the works.
“I was trying to respect the Rebels, the Waratahs and Rugby Australia in that process so I was staying as patient as I could. There was a lot of back and forth between the clubs.
“In the end I’m back here, where I wanted, so the end result worked out well.”
Maddocks is relishing his return to Rebels territory not only to help NSW win their first match of the 2020 Super Rugby season.
“It will be a bit weird, I’m still good mates with a lot of them, still have good relationships with the coaching staff and the board,” he said.
“I was just thinking it will be weird warming up on the other side of the field, being in the other change-rooms.
“I’m excited to go down there, for more than just the footy game, to see a lot of guys that I didn’t really have an opportunity to say goodbye to in person.
“It will be good to get my first start and catch up with a few people after.”
Maddocks, starting on the left wing, will line up against the equally versatile Reece Hodge.
Having turned 23 last week, the seven-Test international has big dreams this year.
“It’s still yet to be finalised but there’s an opportunity, it’s not done yet, but to go back to play Sevens at the Olympics which personally is pretty exciting,” Maddocks said.
“I’d be keen to do that but there’s still a few things to be worked out.”
For now, Maddocks must lead a revival of the new-look Waratahs who already are looking long odds of a finals berth.
“We’re at the start of a new era here, we lost a lot of experience after last season and when I turned up I couldn’t believe how many young boys there were,” he said.
“The club is taking a long-term approach. That’s not to say we’re not striving for results tomorrow, but I feel like it’s in a building phase and every day we’re trying to get better and make improvements, we’re not putting limits on ourselves for this year.”
Waratahs hunt for winning combinations
Last on the ladder after two rounds, the Waratahs face a must-win match against Melbourne as a daunting draw looms.
New coach Rob Penney has taken selection gambles after successive defeats to start the season, starting 19-year-old Angus Bell in the front row and moving winger Alex Newsome to outside centre.
The Tahs and Rebels have the leakiest defences in the competition thus far – they’ve conceded 11 tries each – and the loserof this contest will be fending off wooden spoon speculation rather than touting finals aspirations.
Never before has NSW started a season with two losses, and a third would be an unmitigated disaster with tough rivals to come.
The Tahs have a bye in week four, followed by Johannesburg’s Lions in Parramatta on February 28, New Zealand conference leaders the Chiefs the following week in Wollongong, and then Australian ladder leaders the Brumbies in Canberra on March 15.
The prospect of a 0-6 start to the year is sobering, and Penney is not about to entertain that scenario, making six changesto the starting side hammered 32-12 by Auckland’s Blues last Saturday in Newcastle.
“It is partly a reaction to some of the issues we have been having, and partly the need to find our best combinations andgrow the total group,” Penney said.
“We have come in on a pretty short program and there is not a lot of experience in the group, as you know. We have just gotto expose some people, so it is a bit of both there.”
Bell, the son of former Wallaby Mark Bell – who is now NSW’s scrum coach – will form a new front-row combination with hookerRobbie Abel and Harry Johnson-Holmes who remains at tighthead after the Blues monstered their scrum.
“Angus is an outstanding prospect, the thing when you are ever considering putting a young guy into the starting position,into the front row in particular is their physical and mental ability to cope,” Penney said.
“Angus has proved over the last couple of weeks that he is more than capable. It’s going to add to his development ratherthan be detrimental.
“You just have to be careful but his maturity is such, physically and mentally, that now the time is right. He is a gem ofa player so he’ll just grow from here
“Putting Harry back to tighthead, yeah he had a tough day last week and we are expecting him to learn and improve from that.
“But we are not expecting the finished product in the short-term, it’s a medium to long-term prospect growing a tightheadand we just hope it’s more medium than long.”
Newsome’s shift in from the wing brings Cam Clark to the edge for his first match of the season, relegating teenage star MarkNawaqanitawase and centre Lalakai Foketi to the bench.
In the backrow, Jed Holloway replaces Lachie Swinton in the starting pack.
- Jamie Pandaram
Originally published as Waratahs sign Jack Maddocks from Rebels after man tried to break into his mum’s home
‘Gutted’: Aussie legend brutally sacked
Wallabies legend Matt Burke has been handed a brutal blow after making a successful career after his playing days.
Channel 10 sacks Wallabies legend after 10-year partnership
He has been the face of sport at Channel 10 for over a decade, but the Wallabies legend’s time as the network’s chief sports presenter has come to an end.