Saint-Etienne: Queensland Reds representative Jock Campbell knew early last week he was in line to make his Wallabies debut off the bench against Scotland.
Campbell rang his parents Stewart and Louise back in Australia to tell them the good news. They quickly discussed the possibility of coming over to see their boy run out at Murrayfield.
But there was a problem. Campbell had to tell them one important piece of information.
In the gym that week, he had rolled his ankle. So bad was the swelling that Campbell had quietly conceded, at the time, he wouldn’t make it onto the park.
“I thought I was done,” Campbell said.
Despite the team physio, as well as halfback Jake Gordon, assuring the 27-year-old he would be right, Campbell wasn’t sure.
A similar thing happened to Jordan Petaia, then aged 18, who pulled his hamstring before a potential Test debut against Italy four years ago.
So, would Campbell tell his parents to come, or not run the risk?
“They had to leave before Thursday’s session,” Campbell said. “There was a little bit of risk for them but I assured them I’d be right. They were a bit nervous.”
A couple of flights and 24 hours later, Campbell’s parents arrived in Scotland with the hope of seeing a debut.
Jock Campbell with his parents after Saturday’s Test against Scotland.Credit:Wallabies
“The physio said I would be fine,” Campbell said. “It was just a little bit of nervousness, which turned into trying to get my ankle fully right, which it was for the game.”
As the first half ebbed and flowed in Edinburgh, Campbell was similarly up and down on the Wallabies bench, eager to cross the white paint and make his mark.
When Tom Banks hurt his ankle, Campbell got up but was told to sit back down.
When Hunter Paisami hurt his finger, Campbell got up but was told to sit back down.
Eventually, in the 67th minute, Campbell replaced Banks to become Wallaby No.959.
Despite not touching the ball or making a tackle, Campbell probably would have taken that if he had known Australia would ice a 16-15 victory to begin their spring tour on the right foot.
“It was an unreal experience,” Campbell said. “It was a pressure situation but I thought the boys handled it really well. To sneak a win was awesome. I was pretty stoked.”
Campbell’s parents, as well as one of fellow debutant Langi Gleeson’s family members, were welcomed into the Wallabies sheds to sing the national anthem.
As is tradition for debutants, Campbell had to skol a beer. He can consider himself unlucky — or lucky depending on perspective — that he had to chug a 500ml can of Tennent’s Lager instead of the usual 375ml size.
Campbell was informed by a reporter from his local paper that he was just the second person from Inverell, in northern NSW, to represent the Wallabies.
“I didn’t know that. That’s cool,” Campbell said.
Sitting next to Campbell during the media conference was Will Skelton, who grew up in NSW.
“Where’s Inverell?” Skelton asked.
“It’s in country NSW,” Campbell said.
“A New South Welshman hey,” Skelton said. “I like that.”
Campbell is expected to feature in his second Test this weekend when the Wallabies face France in Paris.
“Everyone’s looking for a start and more minutes,” he said.
Watch all the action from the Wallabies Spring Tour with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Continues this weekend (all times AEDT) with Scotland v Fiji (Saturday 11.50pm), Italy v Samoa (Saturday 11.50pm), Wales v All Blacks (Sunday 2am), Ireland v South Africa (Sunday 4.20am), France v Wallabies (Sunday 6.40am) and England v Argentina (Monday 1.05am).
