Johnson-Holmes pumped for whirlwind Wallabies debut
On Tuesday night Harry Johnson-Holmes was eating an $8 schnitzel in a Sydney pub.
Come Saturday night the 22-year-old will be at Johannesburg's famed Ellis Park, playing for the Wallabies against the Springboks in the Rugby Championship.
The Waratahs rookie was rushed to South Africa after a series of injuries decimated their front-row troops.
With just one training session on the ground, Johnson-Holmes will take his place on the bench at the venue for the 1995 World Cup final, won by the Springboks.
Johnson-Holmes said he had finished Sydney Uni rugby training and was eating dinner and he saw he had a few missed calls from a number he didn't recognise.
"It turned out to be Chek (Wallabies coach Michael Cheika) and he told me to put down by knife and fork and stop eating the schnitty, and pack my bags, and here I am," Johnson-Holmes said.
While Cheika told him during that conversation he would be in the match day 23, Johnson-Holmes thought he must have misheard.
"He mentioned it on the phone but I thought it might have been a figment of my imagination.
"I'm still not sure if it's true," he laughed.
Johnson-Holmes spent two weeks training with the Wallabies before their departure for South Africa so he's familiar with their Rugby Championship game plan.
But with only two seasons of Super Rugby under his belt, admits making his Test debut against South Africa on a such whirlwind preparation is head-spinning.
"I'm still trying to figure it all out and I'm sure I will probably only realise what's happening when I'm stepping on to the field," he said.
Cheika said Johnson-Holmes would be up for the challenge.
"Harry is going to come in and he's going to have so much adrenaline and motivation," Cheika said.
"He was sitting at the pub in Sydney a night or two ago and now he's here to play a Test match."
Latest Comments
I’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
Go to comments