Humble Wallabies rookie Jordan Petaia shrugs off saviour hype
Teenager Jordan Petaia says he doesn’t feel the pressure to lift the Wallabies out of the mire after confirming his four-year extension with Australian rugby.
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Teenager Jordan Petaia says he doesn’t feel the pressure to lift the Wallabies out of the mire after confirming his four-year extension with Australian rugby.
As revealed by The Daily Telegraph last week, Petaia has signed through to the end of 2022, ensuring he remains in the Wallabies’ squad long term.
Seen as the most exciting rugby prospect emerging from Australia in years, Petaia was cruelly robbed of his Test debut last week having suffered a hamstring injury just after being selected.
He is viewed by many experts as the player who can herald a new era of Wallabies success with his freakish attacking ability, but the rookie is remaining grounded.
“I wouldn’t say that I am the next thing to carry Australian rugby but if I get the opportunity to play I will do the best for my team, and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Petaia said.
“The first goal is trying to play at the highest level I can, perform to the best of my ability in Super Rugby and hopefully the national stage if I ever get the opportunity there.
“I’m still pretty young so staying with Queensland and Australia, I’m pretty fortunate to stay in my home town and not have to travel away from family. That was a big part of staying in Queensland and Australian rugby.”
Petaia is fit to play against England this weekend, although it’s unlikely he’ll be risked to debut in the cauldron of Twickenham.
The grandson of former Essendon Bombers player Ray Lalor, Petaia grew up playing rugby league, had some family pressure to play Aussie rules, but has settled on rugby for the next four years.
“I was always thinking about staying in rugby, keep trying to get as far as I can,” said Petaia, adding he was initially devastated about missing his Test debut last week.
“I did it at a session at training just after I found out [I had been selected].
“I just stopped running, pulled out of training, I was hoping it was a day injury, just a tweak.
“But I got the scans back and it was a little tear, so obviously I wasn’t too happy.
“I tried not to dwell on it too much, the first couple of days I was pretty gutted, thinking about it before bed, after bed.
“It was just a waste of energy thinking about that so I started to forget about it and move on.”
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Originally published as Humble Wallabies rookie Jordan Petaia shrugs off saviour hype