There’s a saying: tough times don’t last, tough people do. Nothing epitomises this more than NSW Waratahs centre Joey Walton.
Walton has fought his way to 50 Super Rugby caps, reflecting on his honour ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Blues.
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“I started to reflect last week when we went to Suncorp. I made my debut there and got my cap during COVID, so I think now having my family get to come, it'll be pretty nice,” he said.
“Being able to play consistently now, it's been really enjoyable and I'm happy to reach 50.”
Walton’s love affair with consistent footy comes from close to an 800-day stint on the sidelines with injury.
The 25-year-old broke his ankle in 2021 and then suffered an ACL injury.
He’d finally worked his way back onto the back, only for a herniated disc in his back left him unable to feel his legs at one stage.
“When you're not playing, it just makes you appreciate what you have,” Walton said.
“When it's taken away and you can't play, you just have to think about it and you realise you don't want to do anything else. It puts it into perspective.
“...I spent a lot of time with the physios, a bit of a tablecloth.”
The centre has found himself on the verge of a national squad breakthrough, starting for Australia A against Tonga, Japan XV and England A whilst spending time in the Wallabies wider squad over the past two years.
He also narrowly missed out on playing for AUNZ against the British & Irish Lions, with the near misses only spurring him on further.
“I think it's just making sure that I double down on doing the things that I'm good at, not so much chase and try and be good at everything,” Walton believes.
“Sometimes you've just got to focus on what I'm good at and just lock down on those things. [The selectors] just want me to make sure that I'm being myself and just make sure that I'm as good as I possibly can be at the things that I'm good at.”
Walton is hoping to celebrate the milestone with a drought-breaking win over the Blues, a team they haven’t beaten since 2015.
“It would be massive. If we can just do what we say we want to do and just put out a good performance and hopefully outcomes in our favour, I think it would give us a lot of confidence and hopefully build some belief in our fans and ourselves,” he added.
