Revelling in the aftermath of the greatest season of his career, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson has expressed his desire to remain in Australian rugby for the long haul.
The No.8 became the most consistent leader in the gold jumper of the past two years, inspiring a promising Spring Tour under coach Joe Schmidt.
Australian captain Harry Wilson with the Ella-Mobbs trophy.Credit: Getty Images
Wilson forced his way back to the global stage through his performances for the Queensland Reds, rebounding from his shock axing under Eddie Jones to become a staple of Australia’s back row.
And the 25-year-old, who comes off contract in 2025 along with a host of his Test teammates, declared the allure of a home World Cup in 2027 was strong motivation to stay in Australia.
“I’d definitely prefer to stay here. I love playing for Queensland and I love playing for the Wallabies. It’s why I play footy, to represent my country and state,” Wilson told this masthead.
“I’m super excited for the upcoming years. In Australian rugby as a player there’s no bigger opportunities than that, so I’d love to get my future sorted as quickly as I can.
“I trust my agent to get it sorted, he knows what I want to do, and I’ve got no doubt we can get it sorted soon. There’s a lot of people in a similar boat, so the quicker that gets sorted, the less of a distraction it will be for everyone.”
Wilson could scarcely believe how much his fortunes changed within 12 months.
After suffering a broken arm which prematurely ended his Super Rugby campaign, the Brisbane Brothers product had set about evolving his game in 2024.
Wilson on the charge.Credit: Getty Images
Despite established club-level leaders such as Allan Alaalatoa, Nic White, Tate McDermott, James Slipper and Jake Gordon in the squad, Kiwi mentor Schmidt saw something more in Wilson.
As the Wallabies slumped, bundled out of the World Cup in the group stages for the first time, it appeared Schmidt wanted someone else to take charge.
“We didn’t really go into detail about why he picked me, he just sort of asked me if I’d like to do it and I said it’d be a massive honour,” Wilson said.
“It was a pretty crazy little period there, and he just gave me very simple directions. He just said, ‘don’t change anything, just try and lead every training session by actions and try to do the same thing on the weekend’.
“I just like competing. I just wanted to compete every game and play. Different coaches see different aspects in people’s game which I appreciated, and I guess Joe and the coaching staff might have appreciated a few of my attributes.
“It’s obviously been a pretty crazy year, it was a year I loved and enjoyed so much – it was a bit of a roller-coaster.”
Following back-to-back seasons in which he finished as Super Rugby’s most prolific ball carrier, Wilson sought to add other dimensions to his game with the Reds.
And Les Kiss’ first season at the helm proved his awakening.
Encouraged to trust his instincts and skills, Wilson forged a lethal back-row partnership with Fraser McReight, regularly seen assisting each other en route to the tryline.
Wilson’s offloading game looms as a crucial weapon in Queensland’s hopes of ending a Super Rugby title drought among Australia clubs spanning 11 years.
“Les gives a little bit more freedom than we’ve had here in the past, and really lets us back our skills. [McReight and I] have played together now for nearly 10 years from junior footy, so we know each other’s game back to front,” Wilson said.
“I know he’s always looking for the ball, so if I can try to find ways to get it to him, he makes me look a little bit better than I probably am.
“The style Les plays with I think gives us a lot more one-on-one opportunities than we might have had in the past.”
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