Who the devil is this kid from Gunnedah? He hopes he’s a Lions tamer

Harry Wilson, 25, has just captained the Wallabies in their final Test before they take on the British and Irish Lions, with the first Test held next Saturday in Brisbane.

Fitz: Harry, thank you for making the time. Given you captained the Wallabies last week and the Lions are here, it’s time we, the rugby public, got to know you better. They tell me that you first picked up a rugby ball with intent at just four years old for the mighty Gunnedah Red Devils?

Harry Wilson in action for the Wallabies in September last year against New Zealand.Credit: Getty Images

HW: Yeah. As long as I remember, I’ve always had a rugby ball in hand. My dad was the president of the Red Devils, and my mum was the treasurer. So rugby has always been such a big part of my life, but not just with the club, also on the farm. We lived 20 minutes out of Gunnedah and Dad had built a footy field in the backyard, about 30 metres by 10 metres, with little goalposts, and a cricket pitch and net down one side. And I would just endlessly play footy and cricket with my two older brothers, the eldest four years older than me. I always struggled, and they loved humbling me my whole childhood, but I guess maybe it’s helped in the long run ...

Fitz: I guess! So how did a nice bloke like you – Gunnie born and bred – drift to north of the Tweed and start to mix with the wrong crowd ... by which I mean the Queensland Reds?

HW: (Laughs) I never wanted to leave, but my older brother wanted to go to boarding school in Sydney, which was a little bit expensive for the family. And so Dad ended up getting a job in Brisbane, so we boys could go to St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, instead [as day-boys, which was less expensive].

Fitz: I’m told you still tried to torpedo your entrance interview at Terrace?

HW: Yeah, so when I met the very respected principal, Peter Chapman, I was a young country boy who just did not want to leave the farm, and I told him a few times to “Go and get f---ed”, so I could ruin the interview, and my poor mum was crying, just wanting to get us all into the school. It was not my finest moment. They still accepted me into the school, but I feel bad for Mum and Dad now I think back on it ...

Fitz: But you got in, and the rugby went on!

HW: Yes, both at school and at home, where we had a two-by-10-metre front lawn and played tackle footy on it for hours, and I used to always try to run over my brothers and smash them as much as I could. I can’t say I ever really did, but I think if we got to play now, I might be able get one back on them ...

Fitz: Good chance! The only downturn in your whole career I can see is being totally left out of the 2023 Wallaby World Cup squad by Eddie Jones. Fortunately for you, Eddie went mad and we had to shoot him. Enter the new Wallabies coach, Joe Schmidt, who put you straight back in the side. What sort of a bloke is he?

HW: He’s quite a reserved bloke. He has a set of very high standards. You just want to try to hit those standards every single training session, everything you do. He didn’t come in and try to reinvent the wheel or try to say he’s got a magic way to coach. He just has trained us so hard at our fundamentals and he’s about us being consistent with that day-in, day-out. And he’s been so good for us as a group. He focuses on every single person. The group respects him so much. And, we’ve appreciated having him.

Fitz: He’s certainly brought stability. I mean, after Eddie Jones, Jack the Ripper would look like stability, but he still moved through five captains last year, including you, and now has come back to you. Are you fire-and-brimstone as a leader? Do you poke blokes in the chest behind the goal posts and say, “Mate, this is f---ing Test rugby, and that’s not good enough!”

Eddie Jones, as Wallabies head coach, in 2023.Credit: Getty

HW: Probably not, to be honest. I do speak quite passionately when I’m in the zone, on the field, but I’m probably not the biggest speaker of a captain. We’ve got such a good leadership group at the moment, where we really do share that role. And I think Joe’s big thing to me was: I’ve just got to lead by actions, and no one’s going to listen to me or care about what I’m saying if I’m not performing my role in the field, before I’m saying anything to anyone else.

Fitz: Schmidt has clearly had a good effect on your form?

HW: Yes, when a coach believes in you and gives you confidence, it is a lot easier to, I guess, play good footy. And I guess that’s the one thing about Joe: he put belief in me and he’s made me believe in myself – that I can perform on this stage.

Fitz: You will know better than me, there are two strands of rugby thought: The first is, “Let’s smash ’em!” The second could bore for Australia and talk until midnight about tactics and strategies and carry on about angles of attack enough to kill a brown dog. My eyes would glaze over, and I never listened. What about you? Do you understand and care about such fine nuances of the game?

HW: I definitely think I’ve got a decent rugby knowledge. Because I live and breathe the game, I try to watch as much as I can. But I’m equally not the person who spends hours trying to change the way we’re playing. The coaches do that, and whatever philosophy they give us, I just make sure we try to implement as well as we can.

Fitz: In terms of the way you captain, who is your inspiration?

Australia and Fiji’s prime ministers, Anthony Albanese and Sitiveni Rabuka, present Harry Wilson the Vuvale Bowl after Australia’s close victory last week.Credit: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

HW: I’d say the main one for me would be Michael Hooper. He captained me in the Wallabies from when I was 20 to 23, and I just loved the way he skippered. On the field, he was an absolute warrior who just led from the front. And he was a really good speaker to the group. He gave everyone in the group the same amount of respect and he didn’t overuse his words. He wasn’t just speaking for the sake of it, but he really tried to get as many people in the group as he could speaking, to get input from everyone, and that’s definitely something I’ve tried to do.

Fitz: Which brings us to last Sunday, you captaining the Wallabies against Fiji in Newcastle. Despite being up 14-nil at half-time, the Fijians then exploded and you spent the next 40 minutes up against wave after wave after wave of enormous, hugely skilled, athletic men. “Shits is trumps on the blind, and here they come again!” You’re skipper, Harry, and we’re looking to you. Whatcha got?

HW: Yeah, we’re definitely under the pump there. In the first half, we played some really good footy and controlled the possession, and probably should have had a few more tries, if we just nailed those last passes and the lineouts had worked better. But in that onslaught in the second half, it was all about regrouping and trying to find a way to get a result.

Fitz: Did you have a little voice of panic whispering to you, with 10 minutes to go, “Christ Almighty, I am captain of the Wallabies and I am about to lead them to an historic, shattering defeat against Fiji, just before we take on the combined might of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. They’ll chisel this on my tombstone!”

HW: I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit of panic in the back of my brain there, because in the lead-up it was so important to make sure we got a result which is positive. And we were very, very close to not doing that. But I guess the one thing which Joe’s instilled in us above all else is to win the next moment in front of you. Don’t think about what’s just happened or the end result. Just keep winning the next moment. And that’s how I tried to frame my brain in those situations.

Fitz: But we don’t want your brain, now Harry. We want you! There’s a minute to go, and you’re still LOSING. I’ll start, and you finish: “We’re charging their line. The ball spits out the back and is passed to me by best mate Fraser McReight. I swivel, I turn, I shimmy, I shake, I get hit by two of them, but spin and while upside down, I reach behind me and ... ?”

HW: “And then I just get it down! Thank God.” It took a little bit too long to ground it properly, and especially when they put it up on the big screen, they cut it early, just when everyone was seeing if the ball really was properly grounded. So the Fijian crowd started going crazy. I’m getting a little bit worried there, but then the footage showed it touched. All good!

Fitz: Was that the best feeling of your rugby career so far? Or not?

HW: It’s definitely up there. I’d say the feeling of beating England last year at Twickenham takes the cake. We were written off by everyone but ourselves there. But, yes, the feeling of personally being able to score a winning try was wonderful. You don’t really get too many of those as a Wallaby forward, as you know. So you’ve got to enjoy those moments.

Harry Wilson of the Wallabies scores the match-winning try against Fiji last week.Credit: Getty Images

Fitz: What sort of shape are we in for the Lions?

HW: We’re in good shape. We’ve had a good few weeks together after not being together for six months. So, last Sunday, I think we showed ourselves the footy we can play, but we also showed ourselves we need to really go up a few gears against the Lions. I know there’s a lot of confidence in this group, and we’re really excited to show what we can do.

Fitz: All right, mate, go well. Even if you’re living north of the Tweed now, we all wish you well. You’re still just 25 years old, but a good chance of captaining the Wallabies against the Lions and at least leading them from No. 8. From all of us in the rugby community, warmest congratulations to you, and go hard!

HW: Thanks, Peter.