Nick Champion de Crespigny is proof that you don’t have to be a schoolboy prodigy to live out a Rugby dream.
The 29-year-old will finally get his chance at a gold jersey after being thrust into the starting side for the Wallabies to face the British & Irish Lions.
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Champion de Crespigny has fought and scraped for every inch on the Rugby field, rewarded for years of hard work and toil after his maiden call-up to the Test side.
Born in Canberra, the back-rower comes from a unique background, with the last name (pronounced de crep-nee) coming from a small town in Normandy in northern France where his family originates.
His grandfather, Rafe de Crespigny, is a renowned historian and sinologist and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for services to Australian society in Asian studies, while his cousin Richard also shot to fame in 2010, landing a Qantas flight after it experienced uncontained engine failure.
He emerged on the sporting radar as a rower, taking part in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2013 while playing Rugby.
Champion de Crespigny's focus eventually turned solely to Rugby and his move to Sydney for study would set the groundwork for what would come.
In 2015, he worked his way through the Sydney Uni system, starting in Third Grade Colts.
Fellow Uni and Wallabies teammate Jake Gordon could always see the markings of a quality player in the big back-rower, able to cover all three positions.
"When I first met Nick it was almost 10 years ago now, it was a bit of time ago but very similar. He's always had a really big engine for a big guy, he gets through a lot of work and a lot of the gritty work too but has the ability to impose himself physically on the game," he noted.
"...He's a great guy off the field, but he's very committed once he gets on the field."
Fittingly, Champion de Crespigny was quickly associated with winning, as he helped Uni secure titles in Thirds Colts (2015), First Colts (2016), Second Grade (2017), and First Grade (2018).
This caught the attention of the NSW Country Eagles in the National Rugby Championship, before spending the 2019 preseason with the Melbourne Rebels.
The following year, he spent pre-season with the NSW Waratahs, which turned out to be the first year he would not win a title with Uni.
As COVID hit Australia, the back-rower was recruited by Castres and coach Pierre Henry-Broncan, who would join the Wallabies for the 2023 Rugby World Cup as a maul consultant.
Champion de Crespigny’s winning ways continued as the team finished first in the Top 14 regular season, eventually beaten in the Final 29-10 by Montpellier and Force teammate Brandon Paenga-Amosa.
“I think it was great for my development,” Champion de Crespigny told Force TV last year. “You learn a lot about the tactical and physical side of the game which suits me.
“Playing in the Top 14 final is a memory I’ll hold close, playing in front of 80,000 people at Stade de France.
“Fortunately my family was able to get over there. We didn’t get the biscuits that day, but it was a memorable season."
He would play 56 games for the club before the dream of a gold jersey lured him back home.
Champion de Crespigny hit the ground running and quickly emerged on Wallabies’ radars thanks to his brutal hits and physicality.
It earned him selection in the squad to face Fiji, with even the Force enforcer needing a couple of days to feel at home.
“It's been pretty surreal. You sometimes feel like a little bit of an imposter with everything going on, but no, it's been very special," Champion de Crespigny said last month.
"I always had the ambition to be a Wallaby, but I didn't have an expectation that it would happen.
"This is the first step, but there's a lot of work to do now to actually get into the team."
Champion de Crespigny’s arrival in the Wallabies camp was delayed as he stayed behind to play for the Force against the Lions.
One fiery encounter with Lions young gun Henry Pollock was enough to show he was up for the challenge as the small taste of Test-level footy made him even hungrier.
“It was electric. You were able to run through brick walls out there when you got the crowd screaming at you, so it was really exciting,” Champion de Crespigny said.
“…I think for 40-50 minutes we put out a really solid performance. Obviously we fell off towards the end but lots of great learnings and what an amazing spectacle of Rugby it was.”
Now, Champion de Crespigny finds himself in the right place at the right time after injuries to Langi Gleeson and Rob Valetini left a vacancy in the back-row.
His physical edge has been noticed instantly by fellow back-rower Fraser McReight, who had little doubts he was made for Test Rugby.
"He's a psycho, he loves contact and he's ready to go," McReight said. "He loves the whack and he loves that physical nature of the game which is great.
"Off the field, he's a great man, but once he crosses that white line, he's a different beast."
