Only a month ago, English import Jordan Olowofela was an unknown prospect to Australian Rugby.
Signed on a loan deal from Leicester, the 23-year-old was described as a 'secret weapon' by captain Kyle Godwin ahead of his first Super Rugby start against the Rebels.
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Heading into the Super Rugby AU Finals, he is no longer a secret.
Whilst he doesn't yet have the notoriety or sound bites of former winger Nick Cummins, Olowofela is slowly building his cult hero status to rival the 'Honey Badger' through his actions after a hat-trick sealed the Force's maiden finals
After arriving in Australia at the start of the year, the ability to get regular game-time and learn from legends like Richard Kahui and Rob Kearney was too tough to turn down.
“I wasn’t getting that much game-time at Leicester and I wanted to keep playing so I spoke to the club and then an offer comes from the Force who were happy to take me on a loan deal,” Olowofela told Rugby.com.au.
“They’ve all been very welcoming so I’ve fitted straight in. Everyone’s been helping me around the place, people like Richard Kahui, Rob Kearney…anything that I’ve needed, even little things, you can go to those type of experienced people and pick around their brain.
“They’ve (Leicester) been happy with how I’m going, telling me ‘just keep it going’ while I’m still on loan."
Living in Perth has helped as well, with the Leicester product embracing the lifestyle.
“Very, very beautiful place. If you don’t live near the beach, you don’t have to travel much,” he added on Perth. “Just life in general…it’s really nice.”
His parent club has obviously been impressed with his development, with Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick thrilled to see Olowofela thrive in Super Rugby.
"I am really pleased to see him do so well It's great," said Borthwick via Leicester Mercury. "We've got a number of players out on loan at a number of places. George Worth had a short spell on the field for Melbourne Rebels, there was circumstances in terms of him having to leave the field."
"We track all of those players, closely, so really pleased that Jordan is getting so much game time.
"With there only being top-flight and Championship rugby, there's a lot of players unable to play that many games right now. Jordan has had an opportunity, the club has been fully supportive of that opportunity and he seems to be grabbing it with both hands at the moment."
Olowofela's growth has been evident to see since his starting debut just three weeks ago.
For him, the ability to learn from Kearney and Kahui has allowed him to transform how he views the game and moments, pointing to his final try in the 30-27 win over the Reds.
“A lot of high-ball stuff and positioning from Rob (Kearney). From Richard (Kahui), always being ready for anything in the game,” he believes.
“Something might not be called but you’ve just got to be ready to play what you see in front of you.
“That kick in behind, Richard just saw O’Connor close in and put the kick through. You’ve just got to be ready at any time.”
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Despite his heroics and the emotion from last week's win, Olowofela was quick to turn his focus to upsetting the Brumbies on Saturday at GIO Stadium.
For the former English U20, it's all about controlling what's in front of him: dominating his opposite number.
“The team is on a massive high but we’ve also got a big game coming up so it’s brought us back down to Earth and focused on the next match,” he said.
“It’s about not giving them that time on the ball attacking. Closing them down fast and focus on my game, trying to dominate my opposite man…I’ve got to come out on top.”
“There are things that happen in the game that you can't control, one of them being the scoreboard. We have a game plan each week and we know if we stick to that and everyone does their job to the best of their ability, we’ll have a fighting chance.
“As we’ve shown, if we stick to the game plan, no matter how long is left in the game, we can pull through.”
It’s do or die for both the Brumbies and Western Force this Saturday night in Canberra. Catch all the finals action ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport as well as simulcast live on 9Gem, click here to purchase tickets.
