Robertson keen for more Wallabies action

Wed, Sep 21, 2016, 4:19 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
He became Wallaby 898 on Saturday night - capping a rapid rise for Tom Robertson in 2016.

Tom Robertson says he will put the Wallabies first if he is forced to make a decision between medical studies and a Test career.

While he wants to juggle full-time medicine with the Wallabies as long as he can, he said ultimately rugby would come first.

“The Wallabies come before anything,” he said, speaking after Saturday’s Perth Test.

“Uni's been very supportive and I'm sure they will be in the future but you don't give up a Test cap with the Wallabies for anything.

“The Wallabies will be coming first no matter what but I'm hoping uni will be affordable in that sense.”

Tom Robertson arrives for his Test debut. Photo: ARU Media/Stu WalmsleyRobertson returned from Perth this week and was confronted with a major medical exam, on respiratory and musculoskeletal systems, or in layman's terms ‘lungs and muscles’, something he’d been spending his spare time studying for in the west.

The Wallabies squad to travel to Pretoria and South Africa will be announced later this week and Robertson is likely to be included, with Allan Alaalatoa still under an injury cloud.

Being part of that would ‘mean the world’ to Robertson, who could barely dim his smile when talking about his debut.

"All the boys just Sekope Kepu shook my hand as I was going on and they were all smiling at me the whole time because they knew how excited I was and how huge an occasion it was," he said.

“I think the South Africa Test in Pretoria, I've never played there - and against the Argies in London - Twickenham's one of the best rugby grounds in the world so it'd mean the world to me.

“Especially after a night like tonight you don't want to get that taste for one Test you want it every week.

Unlike the first seven Wallabies debutants this season, Robertson and Lopeti Timani had a win in their first Test, but Robertson was quick to deflect any talk of guaranteed retention.

“Hopefully the coach thinks that [we’re a lucky charm] so he keeps us in the team but the boys were 21-0 up after however many minutes in the first half there, they'd set the platform and we just came up and finished it which is our job.”

The Wallabies take on South Africa in Pretoria on October 2 (AEST) befiore heading to London to play the Pumas on October 9 (AEST).

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