“If that's the last game, I'm happy to go out that way.”
Jack Debreczeni was ready to retire. Now, the 32-year-old playmaker gets his debut start for the NSW Waratahs against their biggest rivals.
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Debreczeni has played all across the world, but there aren’t too many bigger stages than starting at fly-half for the Waratahs against arch-rivals Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium.
He had spent stints in Melbourne, New Zealand and Japan before finishing his time with the ACT Brumbies after their narrow loss to the British & Irish Lions.
But Rugby wasn’t on his mind.
“I'll decide, potentially could be my last game, we'll just see how we go post this game,” he said after that game last July.
“Been having issues with my back and my groin most of this year, so if that's the last game, I'm happy to go out that way. We'll assess over the coming weeks what the next step looks like.”
Contract or not, the West Harbour junior was coming back home to Sydney, eager to support his partner.
Then Dan McKellar came knocking, having seen there was still plenty left in the tank after Debreczeni shone against the British & Irish Lions for First Nations Pasifika, almost engineering a famous upset.
“When we spoke after those games, I really was truthful in the fact that if that was my last game, I'm content with it,” he reflected on that original quote in pre-season.
“I’ve been all over the world and I've done a lot of great travel and had a lot of experiences, it was [about] giving back to my wife. She's been really patient and supportive and loving over the last 12-13 years of my career and her career's taken off quite well so for me it was trying to come back to Sydney and figure out what the next steps were.
“...Fortunately, the opportunity came up at the Waratahs, and I guess the show continues.”
The Waratahs’ ten jersey has been a revolving door ever since the departure of Bernard Foley, with several playmakers coming and going in an endless cycle of replacements being replaced.
Will Harrison, Ben Donaldson and Tane Edmed were all earmarked as the playmakers of the future, coming through the pathways at the same time.
They each had their chance to establish their credentials before being replaced by each other: Harrison moved to Japan while Donaldson headed west.
Edmed found himself in a similar loop with Lawson Creighton, who now is swapped with Debreczeni for a clash with Creighton’s old side.
“Debs has been solid off the bench. That last 30 minutes of games, there was always going to be a time where I'd give him a start, and he's built some minutes now and off the back of a good pre-season,” coach Dan McKellar said.
“He's just had that calmness. Facilitates, gets us around the park and hopefully we can get our attack game going.”
The injection of Debreczeni adds experience to a youthful backline that brings the playmaker’s journey full circle.
During his time at the Brumbies, the flyhalf was already planning for life after Rugby, helping coach their U19s Super Rugby team against a NSW Waratahs outfit that included new teammate Sid Harvey.
Now as both men prepare for the maiden starts in sky blue at opposite ends of their career, Debreczeni isn’t taking anything for granted.
“I think since coming back from Japan to Australian rugby the last three or four years I've tried to treat all those seasons as ‘how great is this’,” he explained.
“When you get closer to the end, you take everything a bit more for granted, and you appreciate the drills, the training, the environment and the connections in the change room and all the little things more.
“When I was 23 or 25, I was bouncing around and loving life still, loving the game but didn't appreciate how special it is to be a professional rugby player and professional sportsman in Australia.
“I pinch myself still that I'm still doing this at this age and to work with guys like Lawson and Jack [Bowen] and a lot of young guys like Sid Harvey and Joey Fowler who keep you on your toes, and you're learning from these younger guys coming through, and there's some great talent we have at this club.”
