Rookie Robertson breaking more new ground

Tue, Oct 4, 2016, 10:26 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
The Wallabies are back in familiar surrounds in London with five straight games at Twickenham last year making it feel like home away from home.

Twickenham might feel like a second home to some Wallabies but London is brand new for rookie prop Tom Robertson.

The London ground played host to five consecutive Wallabies Tests in last year’s World Cup, but with Robertson one of 10 2016 debutants, only a sliver of the side in the UK will have that familiarity this weekend.

Robertson has never stepped foot in Europe before this week and the 22-year-old is hoping he’ll earn a stint on the UK turf come Sunday morning (AEDT).


“To come to one of Europe's - or the world's - best grounds, it's going to be a great feeling if I get out there,” he said.

“Looking forward to it if I get you hear the stories from Drew  Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper about how good of a stadium it is to play at, I'd love to play in front of a packed Twickenham against Argentina.”

A berth in London would be another remarkable milestone for Robertson, who said he was starting to feel settled, but by no means too comfortable in the gold jersey.

“[I’d always say], ‘I'm in the squad but I haven't played yet,’ and that's a pretty crap feeling and once you actually get your cap and you make your debut, you don't feel like a fraud saying that you're actually a Wallaby,” he said.

Robertson will likely have to compete with recovering prop Allan Alaalatoa for a spot in the Wallabies 23 this weekend, but he is desperate to continue to prove himself at Test level.

The Wallabies were a somewhat regular fixture at Twickenham last year. Photo: Getty Images“It's a good feeling but you always want to add more because it doesn't really mean anything to get two Test caps, it's what you do in the jersey rather than just getting it.”

Wallabies utility forward Dean Mumm is far more familiar with the English surroundings, after three seasons at Exeter, before last year’s World Cup campaign.

“You get a feeling that it's not as daunting as perhaps was and because we had a series of results that were good there as well, you get a bit of a good feeling associated with it,” he said,

“In saying that, we've had so many people come into the squad, so many that are going to experience it for the first time - Tom (Robertson) is one of those - it's only relevant to a certain portion of the squad.

“Squads move on, teams move on and therefore the effect of it is only valid for a certain aspect of people.”

The Wallabies team to face Argentina will be named on Thursday morning, ahead of this weekend’s Test, kicking off at 5:30am (AEDT) Sunday.

The Wallabies are in London ahead of The Rugby Championship finale and Rugby World Cup semi-final rematch against Argentina at Twickenham. Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Share