Paris: During the final nail-biting minutes of Australia’s opening spring tour Test against Scotland in Edinburgh, Will Skelton was being ushered into a small room by French drug testers.
Having just suffered a 38-21 defeat playing for La Rochelle against Pau, Skelton was told he’d been selected for a random drug test and encouraged to drink a few bottles of water.
To Skelton’s surprise, he was greeted in the room by a familiar Australian face.
It was seven-Test Wallaby Jack Maddocks, who left the Waratahs last year to take up a deal in France with Pau. Maddocks had his phone turned sideways, watching the Wallabies match, while waiting patiently for mother nature to call.
Skelton introduced himself to Maddocks – the pair had never met despite both playing for the Waratahs – before parking up next to him to catch a glimpse of the final minutes at Murrayfield, with Australia leading by a point heading into the last 10 minutes.
“He [Maddocks] was actually doing the piss test when Scotland missed the last kick,” Skelton said. “We certainly were cheering in the room together.”
Jack Maddocks (right) chats with Will Genia before a Wallabies Test at Eden Park in 2018. Credit:RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley
A day later, after Australia’s 16-15 win, Skelton had arrived in Wallabies camp as one of Dave Rennie’s overseas picks. Maddocks, who was picked on the 2017 spring tour as a development player, was back in Pau.
“We were paying about $7 in that game and no one gave us a chance to beat La Rochelle,” Maddocks told the Herald in France. “It was one of the happiest change rooms I’ve ever been in. You have the elation of winning and you come in and get the tap on the shoulder that you’ve got to do a drug test.
“[Former Melbourne Rebels player] Steve Cummins, who went to school with Will, popped his head in and said ‘what the hell is going on here?’ I always have the games on. I probably watch more footy now than I did before.”
Pau is very different to Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where Maddocks hails from. Beneath the Pyrenees, it’s a sleepy town where people breeze through life at a slow, French pace.
Jack Maddocks playing for the Waratahs in 2020.Credit:Getty
After five years in Super Rugby, Maddocks needed a change. From the highs of a try on his Test debut against the All Blacks in 2018, to the lows of missing selection at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Maddocks was ready for a new adventure, particularly after the Waratahs’ winless season in 2021.
“There were a lot of foreigners which made things really easy,” Maddocks said. “I’ve heard mixed stories about France. Some boys love it, some boys hate it and they get spat out pretty quickly. A lot of boys can struggle if they come over and try and live like an Aussie. They’re reluctant to learn the language. They want to go for a meat pie at the servo at lunchtime.
“You’ve got to get a bike, cycle to the bakery and put your baguette in your basket. You’ve got to try and ham it up and be French. If you come over a little closed-minded … I can see it going badly pretty quickly.”
Maddocks isn’t bitter about his exit from Australian rugby. Far from it. Is a Wallabies return on his radar?
“No it’s not,” Maddocks said. “When I watch the Wallabies now, I’m almost more invested than I was before. When you’re involved … you know the plays and whether everyone is doing their role correctly. Now you’re oblivious to all that and you just want the boys to win. I feel more attached to Australian rugby that I’m gone, in a weird way.
“A piece of advice I got is that when you go, you’ve got to go. Don’t harbour ambitions that you have a good game and you hope Dave Rennie is watching. I’m proud to have played for all those teams and I want to see them flourish.”
Rennie tried to persuade Maddocks to remain in Australian rugby last year, despite not picking him for squads in 2021. Maddocks knew he had to make a tough phone call.
“You dread making it,” Maddocks said. “He did make it clear that he wanted me to stay but grown-ups have to make decisions for themselves.
“I felt I’d maybe gone a bit stale in Australia. I felt I was getting further away. I wasn’t bitter at the time about not getting selected because I don’t feel like I really deserved it. I feel like I’ve gone from a boy to a man on the field in the last two years.”
A NSW homecoming might not be out of the question either. Waratahs coach Darren Coleman is aware that Maddocks is off contract next year.
“I’m not sure what I’ll do,” Maddocks said. “I’d love to stay in France but it’s so unpredictable what’s going to happen. I know DC [Coleman] very well. He was my coach at Easts. I went from playing thirds at school to within three games playing first grade because DC picked me. That was when agents started calling me.”
For now, it’s down to the bakery for more baguettes, with a World Cup in France next year to look forward to.
“Maybe I’ll get there and it’ll be an event I’ll think I really want to be a part of,” Maddocks said. “As an Australian, I just want to see my team do well.”
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 and Italy v Samoa (both 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).
