On the rugby field, NSW Waratahs five-eighth Tane Edmed has almost mastered the art of balance, knowing exactly when to distribute the ball and when to kick into space. Off it, achieving equilibrium remains a work in progress.
Edmed doesn’t just bring his work home with him, he takes it to bed. When he tries to read a novel at night, he often quickly switches to a sports biography, seeking to gain insights whether tactical, psychological or motivational. Edmed admits he badly needed help learning how to switch off, and found it through an off-season coffee with Nathan Cleary.
Edmed is the son of former Balmain Tigers prop Steve Edmed, and after playing junior league alongside his union commitments, the playmaker still learns valuable lessons watching the NRL.
As the Penrith Panthers embarked on their incredible run of four straight premierships, Edmed was inspired not only by the team’s culture, but also their ability to adapt to losing key players each season while having fun doing it.
Ahead of the new Super Rugby season, Edmed set up a coffee with Cleary through Corey Bocking, the Penrith strength and conditioning coach formerly with the Waratahs, to pick the halfback’s brain on how he has managed to strike the perfect balance between work and play while also winning consistently.
“I still go to bed thinking about scrum set-ups or something ridiculous,” Edmed said. “There are just slides in your head.
Tane Edmed after missing a last minute penalty in last year’s Super Rugby competition Credit: Getty
“Something I’m trying to do now, which I actually picked up from Nathan Cleary – I had a coffee with him in the pre-season just to talk about how he goes about things – he tries to keep everything at the facility.
“So, watch training, analyze training, learn all the plays, talk to your coaches … it then means I’m leaving here [Waratahs training] a lot later, but it also means that when I get home, I’m home.”
The contrast between the all-conquering Panthers and the Waratahs, last year’s Super Rugby wooden spooners, is stark – but Edmed found that the star halfback was just as inquisitive about life in rugby.
”He definitely was just as interested in how we go about things and how I go about things and that’s what I recognised in myself, he just wants to get better,” Edmed said.
“He’s really intrigued at how he can get better, how he can change things, and he’s obviously found a lot of the answers.
“I mean, he’s won four competitions in a row, which is crazy. He’s probably three years ahead of me in terms of age, and he seems like he’s found a lot of the answers, so I just want to find out what they were.”
After a difficult season with the Waratahs, Edmed needed a fresh start. He travelled to New Zealand to play for North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship and not only rekindled his love for rugby, but earned a spot on the Wallabies’ spring tour, where he made his debut in the final game against Ireland.
It is a measure of Edmed’s progress that coach Joe Schmidt introduced him at 74 minutes with the Wallabies desperately chasing down Ireland in their eventual 22-19 defeat.
Tane Edmed found his love for the game again in New Zealand’s NPC competition.Credit: Getty Images
Regrettably, Edmed was on the field for just three minutes after suffering a brutal head knock in a tackle. Travelling home, the feeling of unfinished business rankled Edmed – but after talking with his dad, he realised what he had achieved.
“You dream about your debut, and you never think of something like that happening,” Edmed said.
“The two days after, I was pretty shaken up – pretty devastated, to be honest. It didn’t feel like I thought it would.
“But then when I got off the plane, I realised what I’d done. I saw my old man, he picked me up from the airport, and then it started to hit me a little bit – like, ‘You’re a Wallaby’. It didn’t go the way I wanted, but I started to feel a lot better about it.”
With the Waratahs set to kick off their season against the Highlanders on Friday, Edmed is determined to change his club’s fortunes. He also knows that by leading the Waratahs well, he will put himself in the frame for the Wallabies and the golden opportunities that lie ahead.
“I think those representative honours will take care of themselves if we’re going well as a team and I’m playing good footy,” Edmed said. “I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t think about it, you definitely do. But it’s trying to just bring it back to the weekly process.
“But a Lions tour at home, a World Cup at home, it’s an incredible opportunity … it’s up to me and my teammates to take it with both hands.”
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