Manly Marlin racing to Olympics six weeks after becoming an Aussie
Manly Marlins flyer Josh Turner is on course to represent his adopted country at the Tokyo Olympics. And he’s only just got his Aussie passport.
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JUST six weeks after getting his Australian passport, Manly Marlins flyer Josh Turner is on course to represent his adopted country in the Tokyo Olympics.
The 24-year-old former Kiwi made his long-awaited debut for the Australian men’s sevens team that booked their spot for the Games after winning the Oceania Sevens tournament on the weekend in Fiji.
“It couldn’t have been any better, it was such an amazing weekend,” Turner said.
“We trained four months for that tournament and put so many hours of work into it.
“To debut for Australia in that tournament was epic and it was crazy.”
And there are no doubts about where his allegiances now lie.
“I’m fully Aussie now, I’m all in,” said Turner, who played in all six tournament games.
“It meant so much to me to wear the jumper, I couldn’t put it into words.”
Turner, a former skipper of the New Zealand under 19s, came across from New Zealand to join the Marlins in 2016 with the goal of progressing his rugby career.
He quickly settled into life on his northern beaches and made his mark in the Shute Shield with Manly.
“I was always a 15s player and I was coming over to play professional 15s,” he said.
But Turner’s electrifying speed and footwork first caught the eye of Australians Sevens Performance Manager Scott Bowen while playing in the National Rugby Championship back in 2017.
He was signed by the Australian Sevens and lodged his application for citizenship 18 months ago.
He was strongly supported in his application by both Rugby Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee.
While waiting for his passport Turner kept on training with the Australian squad, always focused on the big picture.
Turner said since joining the sevens program he was now the fittest – and skinniest he has ever been.
Bowen was impressed by Turner’s performance in Fiji.
“He did really well, he played some big minutes and he’s well on his way,” Bowen said.
“We’ve had him under contract for a year preparing for this and it all came together with perfect timing and he was eligible for our qualifier.”
If they hadn’t won the Oceania Sevens the Aussies would have had to play in a global repechage one month be out from the Olympics to try and qualify.