How new Wallaby Harry Potter earned his own place in the pages of history

Western Force winger Harry Potter has, with unfailing good grace, put up with a lifetime of jokes about his name, but the 26-year-old has earned his own slice of deserved fame after being selected for the Wallabies against Scotland on Monday.

There was still a neat twist of irony, though, that Potter learnt of his Test debut at the Wallabies hotel on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, just a five-minute walk from the cafe where author J. K. Rowling started writing a book about a boy wizard. It was published just a few months before Potter was born in 1997 in London, and given a yet-to-be-famous first name.

A few weeks shy of 27 years later, Potter will become Wallaby No.989 on Monday morning (AEDT), one of six changes to the Wallabies’ starting side that beat Wales last weekend in Cardiff.

“I was pretty shocked, to be honest,” Potter said. “The team has obviously been going really well. There has been some good continuity, so it is a huge honour to hear that in the team meeting. It was a bit of a shock, and I am excited for it.”

There is also a nice symmetry to Potter making his Test debut in Edinburgh, given his journey to a first Test cap has been a genuine globe-trotting adventure.

Born in England, Potter moved to Australia with his family when he was 11, and after settling in Melbourne and unsuccessfully trying AFL, the youngster found a rugby club and continued playing the game he loved.

Harry Potter at Wallabies training on the spring tour.Credit: AP

Potter was a good player and eventually moved to Sydney to study and play rugby at Sydney University. A handful of premierships for the Students resulted in Potter earning a professional contract with his hometown club, the Melbourne Rebels.

But after struggling to get a run when COVID-19 hit, Potter took up an opportunity to play under his former Sydney Uni coach Rob Taylor at Leicester in the English premiership.

Potter was a big hit at the Tigers and played in their 2021-22 premiership season. Then-England coach Eddie Jones had his eye on the English-qualified Sydney Uni pair at the Tigers – Potter and Guy Porter – and the latter ended up making his Test debut.

But Potter always had his eye on a Wallabies jersey, and he returned to Australia in late 2023 to play for the Western Force.

Harry Potter training in London.Credit: Getty Images

“I wanted to come back to Australia, partly because I wanted to play for the Western Force, but largely because you can’t play for the Wallabies unless you are playing rugby in Australia,” he said.

“I would say a fair component of that was wanting to play for the Wallabies, so I am grateful for that to have happened, or fingers crossed, two more days.”

Good form early in the 2024 Super Rugby season put Potter on Schmidt’s radar, but injury ruined his season. It was then another overseas moment that proved influential in Potter getting a Wallabies squad call-up for the spring tour, when he impressed for the Force on their off-season tour of South Africa.

“I thought that when I got in the squad, it’s nice to get in the squad but getting in the team is another thing really,” he said. “It’s great to help the team and get in the squad, but I was pretty keen to get my go. I am really excited to have the opportunity and grateful the coaches have given me that.”

Harry Potter charges into the Reds’ defence during the Super Rugby season.Credit: Getty Images

It was the worldly experience of Potter that convinced Schmidt he would be ready for a debut against Scotland at Murrayfield on Monday morning (AEDT).

“It is an epic place to play,” Potter said. “The fans are going to come into play. It’s going to be loud and a big occasion, and as big a game for Scotland as it is for us.”

They will probably never go away entirely, but the magician and wizard cracks and puns he’s heard a thousand times may now start to taper off given Potter is a Test rugby player, and has made his own name.

Before the tour started, Potter said – through slightly gritted teeth – he still found the jokes funny and even admired the originality of the “You’re a Wallaby Harry” headline that’s now been rolled out a couple of times. He said James Slipper dubbed him the Wizard early.

But Wallabies teammates now just know him as him “Potts”. The curse may have lifted.

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