Jordan Petaia was always comfortable playing the bigger kids.
We know so because one of those kids was close family friend Matt Toomua. Now Petaia, aged just 18 but built like the proverbial outhouse, and Toomua are teammates on a Wallabies tour. It’s an amazing shared history.
‘‘Jordy was crazy as a kid,’’ says Toomua when asked for an insight about the young Reds back who has already outgrown the NRC.
Sensation: Jordan Petaia is set to make his Wallabies debut aged just 18 on the Test tour of Europe.Credit:Stuart Walmsley
‘‘Very high energy and very brave. We always used to like playing with him as kids because he was so tough, and despite us being 10 years older he used to love playing with myself and my older brother.’’
Wallabies fans will love hearing that. It’s not that size has been lacking in recent years among the outside backs in Australian rugby. Since 2013 the weight and height of their midfielders and wingers has gone up sharply.
But big and tough? Fast, skilful and just a teenager? It’s almost enough to get the hopes up of long-suffering Wallabies supporters. Could this kid actually be the real thing? Well, there’s a chance.
For the record, Petaia certainly is big. He’s listed at 98kg but a look at the lad tells you that’s probably conservative. And at 190cm he certainly isn’t going to be less than about 103kg in his prime. Throughout the NRC his power was evident and in the final he carried half of Fiji over the line for an impressive individual try.
But there is something else important about Petaia, as revealed by a story involving a pair of lost undies and a diligent mother.
Toomua takes up the tale: ‘‘Jordan’s most admirable trait, other than his athleticism, is his ability to take everything in his stride. Call it blissfully unaware or whatever but the occasion doesn’t seem to get the better of him.
‘‘I remember speaking to him before he was playing against Waisake Naholo [for the Reds against the Highlanders in May], and his demeanour about facing an All Black for the first time was so calm and almost unaware.
‘‘It was just another game – he forgot to pack his undies and his mum had to bring them in, by the way – and he was out there to play footy.’’
Now Australian rugby has to look after him – the Reds, the under 20s, the Wallabies, the whole system. Already this year he has been pulled in different directions.
‘We used to love him because he was so tough’: Petaia as a youngster with Matt Toomua.
He missed most of the under 20 world championships when needed for Reds duty, but was then hurriedly flown over to France for the semi-final against New Zealand. Was this giving him the best chance of success?
Therefore it will be interesting to see how the Wallabies use him on their northern tour. The Test against Wales on Saturday week looks too soon and the tour-ender against England at Twickenham looks too momentous so perhaps the middle game against Italy is the best fit.
Regardless, Toomua knows that he is made of the right stuff to thrive in the longer term.
‘‘Jordan broke his ankle at quite a young age and I know there would have been significant doubt in his mind if he could come back from that,’’ Toomua says. ‘‘Until then he looked destined to become a professional but after that he probably didn’t progress as quick as our family thought he would. So his ‘rapid’ rise in the last few years hasn’t come much of a surprise to us.
‘‘He has two very proud and loving parents, but he never wants a fuss to be made over him. He just wants to play his PlayStation, play some footy and enjoy it.’’
It’s the best outlook an 18-year-old can have. It’s one big step at a time for Petaia, and that can take him anywhere.
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