Debut timing \"meant to be\" for Petaia

Sat, Oct 5, 2019, 11:52 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
Jordan Petaia proved once again he was undaunted by the bright lights as he had debut to remember against Uruguay.

Jordan Petaia has faced some false starts in the past year but the 19-year-old wasn’t thinking about any of his setbacks when he belted out “Advance Australia Fair” at Oita Stadium on Saturday night.

Petaia finally became Wallaby 930 with a 40-minute stint for Australia against Uruguay, just shy of a year after he was first in line to play a Test.

His debut came after a frustrating year in which he was sidelined with hamstring and foot injuries, pushing his debut back further and further each time.

The most agonising of those was the first injury, a hamstring, that ruled him out of Australia’s Test against Italy last November just two days out from the game.

Speaking to media after ticking his first cap off on Saturday night, in a performance that earned big praise from coach Michael Cheika, the 19-year-old took a philosophical view to the fact he’d finally earned his Test outing.

“I mean yeah, it's all been part of the journey,” he said.

“I guess this was meant to be the moment I debuted so just happy to get out there and be healthy.”

Petaia’s parents Helen and Tielu flew to Japan for the game, which was also a 50th Test milestone for close family friend Matt To’omua, and there was no shortage of helpful advice directed his way this week.


“Pretty much the whole squad did, everyone had their words to say and congratulate and encourage me into the game and obviously just giving me advice so it's been good,” he said.

Petaia said he was “itchy” to get into the action, a feeling that would only have grown as he waited more than 20 minutes for his first touch.

“Especially after the anthem, I was pretty itchy and pretty nervous as well but once I touched the ball and got into the game a bit more, got a bit more comfortable so it was good,” he said.

If the time spent waiting for that first possession fazed Petaia at all it didn’t show, with the teenager content to work his way into the game.

“There's been games where I haven't touched the ball,” he said.

“Going into the game I was just focused on doing my role, whether that be in D just working on that pendulum so I was happy to wait 23 minutes.”

And when he did finally get his hands on the ball, he looked right at home on the Test arena, creating scores for both himself and his teammates.

Wallabies fullback Kurtley Beale praised Petaia pre-match for his resilience and said on Saturday night that the winger’s performance was of no surprise to him.


“I always believed he had the potential to impact the game the way he did and I am super proud of him to have bounced back from all the injuries he has had,” he said.

“To be able to put in a strong 40 minutes, he should be extremely proud of himself.

“It’s an honour to be able to play for your country and to be able to do that on the biggest stage, everyone is really excited for him.”

“It’s great he got the 40 minutes under his belt and I know he’ll be crucial later on in the pool stages.”

Petaia showed some fancy footwork with a step that opened up the field for Tevita Kuridrani to score, after getting one of his own earlier in the piece.

Beale said Petaia’s ability to generate attack reflected the talent that made him a valuable asset to the Wallabies outfit despite his tender years.

“In Test match rugby you need guys to be able to create something out of nothing and he does have that kind of impact on the game,” he said.

“He has that X-factor and we’re very lucky to have him in the team.

“He reads the game really well and it was great to see him cross over for that try.”

Petaia will be pushing to retain his spot for Australia's final pool match against Georgia next Friday night, able to slot in at centre or on the wing if needed.

The Wallabies returned to Tokyo on Saturday night,and will face Georgia in Shizuoka on Friday October 11.

Australia takes on Georgia in Shizuoka on Friday October 11, kicking off at 7:15pm local, 9:15pm AEDT, LIVE on Foxtel, Network Ten and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO, Rugby Xplorer and Amazon Alexa.

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