Waratahs young gun Joey Walton’s recipe for success in Super Rugby debut
He spends around $1000 a month on food to help him bulk up and stay healthy but it was something which costs around 50c that settled this ‘Baby Tah’ right down before his Super Rugby debut.
NSW
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Strangely, when Joey Walton made his Super Rugby debut last round, he wasn’t as nervous as he though he would be.
But he did have something with him that settled him down before he ran out against the Queensland Reds.
An unusual talisman and recipe for success which goes with him everywhere - including on interstate trips - and is replaced daily.
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“I always have a red apple in the sheds before a game. I’m just a huge fan of apples,” said Walton, part of a group of Waratahs young guns being given big opportunity at the club this year.
“One day I had an apple and had a really good game,” he said. I don’t even have to eat the whole apple.
“I even pack my own apples to fly interstate in case someone doesn’t have an apple for me.”
Walton described making his debut against the Reds last Friday in Queensland as “crazy” but missed having his family witness the moment due to the closure of the Queensland border.
“If I get picked this weekend they will all turn up,” said Walton, who has been named in the 15.
“They would drive to South Africa if they had to see me play.”
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While the Central Coast young gun has turned a few heads in rugby league in the past, he has always had his sights set on a rugby career.
A Warnervale Wildcats junior, who now lives at Eastlakes near the Waratahs training ground and plays with a Gordon in the Shute Shield, Walton went to a league school and was raised by a league fan.
I won’t ever forget running out - and when the ball hit me in the face
“My dad is all rugby league,” said Walton, a former NSW School’s and Barbarians centre, who played league until the under 16s while at Wadalba Community School.
His decision to stick with his first love of rugby paid big dividends last weekend when he ran onto the field in his first Super Rugby game for the Waratahs.
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“I won’t ever forget running out - and when the ball hit me in the face,” said Walton who is up against Force on Saturday at the SCG.
The Waratahs have been blooding a string of youngsters this season including Will Harrison, Angus Bell and Carlo Tizzano, who have all made their professional debuts in 2020.
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