Hours before Jed Holloway ran out with the Waratahs to face the Sunwolves on Saturday night he was in Sydney’s south fishing for some dinner.
The backrower, who has reinvented himself as a second rower for the Waratahs in recent weeks, spends much of his spare time spear fishing in Sydney’s south and it’s a hobby he said has helped him find some consistent on-field form.
“I just think getting my life sorted away from football and focusing on that (has helped),” he said.
“I love to do spear fishing and stuff like that, so finding a good balance when I'm away from here and being happy and that reflects on my game.
“I think it's starting to show at the right time of the year.”
Holloway’s family has a cottage in Sydney’s Royal National Park and the forward spends much of his spare time there or in Sydney’s south
“(We've) got a place down in the Royal National Park and then I also go to Cronulla,” he said.
“I did it before the game on the weekend, did it Saturday morning, do it most days off as well. get in there as much as possible - blackfish, drummers, kingfish, lobsters a lot.
“Got a few waiting for me at home tonight, that I'm going to dig into.”
Holloway was battling for game time in the Waratahs backrow, with Michael Wells, Ned Hanigan and Will Miller stepping up in those spots, before he was called up for a positional shift.
He has started three games in a row at lock now, his first regular role in that spot since U20s, and said the transition was a natural one.
“It's been really good, obviously being able to get my hands on the ball a bit more, the ears are handling it quite well as well and the props seem to be happy,” he said.
“I'm enjoying the playing time I'm getting, enjoying the opportunity and hopefully the coaches are seeing that I'm grabbing it with both hands as well.”
Holloway said he took stock of his attitude after a rollercoaster 2017 and said that combined with blocks of extra fitness had helped him.
“Obviously coming off a disappointing year last year with injuries, I reviewed a lot of my personal efforts around here as an individual and what I needed to do to be a proper professional,” he said.
“I was just trying to front up and be the best teammate that I could be, whether that was coming off the bench and just making sure I get high impact and doing my job in that regard and then talking to the S&C staff about doing a bit of extra fitness here and there and working hard and we used that June period to get some good minutes in at club rugby and also to do some big sessions in here.
“Coming out of that, I felt a lot fitter when I was playing and got my hands on the ball a lot more and those carries started to get my nose through the line a bit more."
The Waratahs take on the Brumbies on Saturday night at 7:45pm AEST, LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
