Harry Wilson’s remarkable rise from club rugby to shock Wallabies captain

It was around this time last year that Harry Wilson starred for Brothers in the Queensland Premier Rugby Grand Final at Ballymore. That same week, the Wallabies took on Test heavyweights France two weeks out from the Rugby World Cup.

Wilson has been a reliable competitor for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby for a handful of years now but a return to Wallaby gold remained out of reach for a while. The backrower debuted at Test level in 2020 but ended up falling out of favour.

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones overlooked Wilson from the Australia A squad to take on Portugal during the Rugby World Cup in France, but the No. 8 returned to representative rugby with Barbarians after that QPR Grand Final with Brothers.

With new coach Joe Schmidt taking on the Wallabies’ top job this year, a new opportunity beckoned for Wilson to impress. Schmidt ended up including the Reds’ enforcer in his plans, but initially overlooked Wilson for both Tests against Wales in July.

Wilson returned to the international arena against Georgia and, to put it plainly, the 24-year-old made the most of it. The loose forward impressed in a big way – later being named captain for the Wallabies’ two-Test tour of Argentina earlier this month.

“It was a tough loss for us there and we took our learnings,” Wilson told reporters in Sydney on Friday after being asked about that captaincy experience.

“A lot of us learned a lot from that match and we had a detailed review when we came into camp and put it behind us.

“It’s not very hard to motivate a group for the Bledisloe Cup.

“We took our learnings and we’ve had a good week training here.”

Wilson has retained that leadership role for the Wallabies’ biggest Test match of the year so far. This weekend, they’ll host arch-rivals the All Blacks in a crunch Bledisloe Cup Test in front of more than 60,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.

The skipper joins Rob Valetini and long-time friend Fraser McReight in a star-studded backrow. Other selection talking points including coach Schmidt’s decision to name Nic White at halfback, and the return of Tom Wright at fullback is another big boost.

But for Wilson, it’s quite incredible to think about the last few months.

Not that long ago, he was overlooked for the national squad.

Now, he’s captain, and it’s a Bledisloe Cup week in Sydney.

“It’s obviously something I wasn’t expecting but it’s something I’ve really enjoyed from the fortnight over in Argentina,” Wilson said.

“To do it in the Bledisloe Cup is an amazing opportunity for me and for us.

“For me, my job is to go out there and try to win a Test match for my country. I’m super excited for it.”

The Wallabies haven’t held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002. It’s a stat that is thrown around year after year as Australian rugby fans dare to dream of what it would be like to see their rugby heroes get their hands on the giant Cup once again.

To do that, the Wallabies need to avoid a loss this weekend in Sydney. If they’re able to win or at least draw the Test at Sydney Olympic Park, then the series will go to a decider next weekend at Wellington’s Sky Stadium – a venue the All Blacks tend to struggle at.

“Obviously, it’s been quite a while for us.

“We’re process-driven here. We’re really focused on tomorrow afternoon.

“For us it’s one game at a time, trying to win each moment.

“That’s what we’re here to do but for us there’s a lot to happen before that.

“It’s just another game of footy for us. Obviously, there’s a big build-up to it compared to other games but we’ve just got to win the moment in front and we’re all excited.

“It’s been a while so it makes it even more enjoyable to be out there.”