Giant Queensland Reds star Angus Blyth reveals real reason he turned back on AFL to stick with rugby
Does this sound familiar? Rugby young gun Angus Blyth’s sporting career could have taken a different twist had he taken a big money offer instead of staying with the game he loved.
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Returning Queensland Reds star Angus Blyth is living proof that money isn’t everything when it comes to deciding which brand of footy to play.
Like Joseph Suaalii, whose future plans have led to the public tug-o-war been league and union for his services, Blyth also had to choose between two codes when he was a teenager after he was approached by the Gold Coast Suns with an offer to join AFL.
Standing 2.04 metres tall and already a rising star in Queensland rugby, Blyth was under no illusions about why the Suns were suddenly showing interest in him, and while he didn’t encounter any of the fanfare Suaalii has faced, he was still taken aback by the numbers on offer.
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“I hadn’t ever played a game of AFL in my life. I think I’d only ever seen two games on TV and hadn’t really kicked a ball,” he said.
“They offered me a lot more money (than rugby) so I thought about it seriously because I was only about 18 and it was a lot more cash.
“But in the end, rugby’s the game I love, it’s the game I’ve always played and I’m so glad I made that decision.”
Instead of big bucks, the carrots that rugby dangled in front of Blyth were as much to develop him as a person as much as a player.
He was awarded a scholarship, named after Australia’s greatest lock John Eales, to study commerce at Bond University, and has a direct line to the two-time World Cup winner whenever he has any questions about his game or life in general.
He’s also got to fill his passport with stamps, from New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan, though the towering lock said it was still a difficult call to make as a teenager.
“When you’re that young and you’re forced to make a decision on the pathway for your sporting career it’s tough and I know I’d be in a very different place to where I am now if I didn’t choose rugby,” Blyth said.
“For me, it didn’t come down to money in the end. It came down to the game.
“I’ve played rugby since I was a kid, my dad played rugby, I went to a rugby school, my brother Wilson is at the Reds so I knew what I was getting into whereas I had no idea about AFL.
“I also liked the idea of being able to travel the world and the opportunity to wear the gold jersey one day, which are things you can’t do in AFL so for me rugby was the better option and I’m glad I stuck with it.”
Australian rugby is glad, too, because Blyth’s stocks have been rising as quickly as his boot size.
A former junior Wallaby, the now 22-year-old has quickly emerged as one of the country’s best prospects to fill the void at second row after the departures of Izack Rodda, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman and Harry Hockings to rich overseas clubs.
Blyth had only been given a handful of opportunities to start when Rodda and Hockings were still with the Reds but has stepped up to the plate after getting a regular spot.
Back in the Reds starting side after a short injury lay off, he now find himself preparing to pack down alongside Test backrower Lukhan Salakaia-Loto against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday in a match that could have a big bearing on who gets picked for Australia at the end of the year.
“For a lot of young guys who are coming through, this is a great opportunity just to put their hand up and that’s how I’m looking at it,” Blyth said.
“It was disappointing to see those guys go but we’ve still got a lot of good locks and I think the guys coming through are all playing really well and hoping to move on to the next level.
‘I’ve been in the Reds pathway system for a while now so they have put a lot of time and effort into developing me and Queensland’s my home so I want to keep playing for the Reds.”
Prodigal son returns
Wallabies World Cup stars Jordan Petaia and Isi Naisarani are poised to make their Super Rugby AU debuts after being cleared to return from injury, giving new coach Dave Rennie more food for thought as he looks ahead to the Bledisloe Cup series.
With Queensland’s Harry Wilson and the Brumbies’ Pete Samu the early frontrunners for the No. 8 Test jersey, Naisarani’s return will not only give the Rebels an extra boost ahead of Friday’s clash with the Western Force at Leichhardt Oval, but also the Wallabies, and boy do they need any lift.
One of Australia’s best performers at last year’s World Cup in Japan, the 25-year-old returns from a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for three months.
“That’s the longest I have ever gone without playing, I’ve never been injured for that long,” he said.
“It was a grade three, and it was the first time I’d ever hurt my hamstring. The doc said it would take eight weeks or 10 weeks to heal. For me this is my 12th week.”
Naisarani’s return means the Rebels will have to change their back row while there’s also doubt about skipper and fullback Dane Haylett-Petty after he went off early in last weekend’s win over the Waratahs after damaging his knee.
The Force, still yet to win since rejoining Super Rugby, are expected to beef-up their midfield and welcome back their captain Ian Prior after he was forced to miss last weekend’s loss to the Brumbies.
Prior will slot straight back in at halfback while former Wallaby Kyle Godwin is expected to get a start at outside centre after coming off the bench in the team’s three previous matches.
He could partner 2011 All Black World Cup winner Richard Kahui, who made a big impression when he came on midway through the second half against the Brumbies.
The unbeaten Reds will take a cautious approach with their returning superstar Petaia, who has been out of action since February after injuring his shoulder while in Argentina.
The 20-year-old has suffered a series of setbacks since bursting on the scene so will almost certainly start off the bench in his return against the table topping Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The return of giant lock Angus Blyth will force a reshuffle in the back row with Angus Scott-Young moving to blindside flanker and skipper Liam Wright switching to open side.
The Brumbies are not expected to make any changes to their starting side but prop Tom Ross and lock Darcy Swain will join the reserves.