Jordy Reid, the 30-year-old son of Aussie and Kiwi parents who grew up surfing on Sydney beaches, hasn’t had a hair cut in 13 years and moved to England after a low key time in Super Rugby, is being talked up as a left-field selection shock for England’s mid year tour Down Under.
Reid, a flanker who is excelling for Gloucester in English rugby, was featured in an entertaining interview in The Times on Wednesday, where he said he would be eager to play for Eddie Jones’ national team in July on his home soil of Australia.
Reid’s impressive season in England is “:the latest in a long line for the back row, who talks with a looseness befitting an ocean-loving Sydneysider,” says The Times.
“Reid potters around Kingsholm in flip-flops — well, thongs to an Australian — baggy shorts and a blue hoodie with “Hard Yakka” emblazoned across the front.
“He has not had a proper haircut since his final school term in 2009, then growing his locks for a bet where the prize was a crate of beer. The dreads have formed naturally — helped by going unwashed when he backpacked across Europe — and even survived Gloucester’s infamous “milk challenge”, where new players have to drink eight pints in 20 minutes or have their head shaved. Reid completed it, much to the disappointment of his team-mates, leering with the clippers.”
Gloucester’s Jordy Reid. (Photo by Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Reid’s father and mother met in London in the 1970s before returning to his mum’s home town of Sydney to settle. She wanted him to play football but her dad, from Christchurch, was a rugby fan and pointed Reid into that game.
He was a keen surfer.
“Mum would drop me down in the morning, go to work, then pick me up after,” he told The Times. “I’d steal four dollars out the coin jar to buy hot chips for lunch, and with my mates we’d surf for eight hours a day. Then I’d play rugby on the weekends.”
Due to his dad’s influence he started as an All Blacks fan, then changed allegiances to Australia after they won the 1999 World Cup.
“I’ve really timed it badly, getting rid of the All Blacks as they became good, and the Wallabies started struggling,” he said.
Reid first played professionally for the Rebels and featured alongside James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale when they lost to the British & Irish Lions in 2013.
“I got yellow-carded — that turned my 17 minutes into about seven unfortunately,” Reid told The Times. “I asked Justin Tipuric if he wanted to swap jerseys, but he didn’t and I was like, ‘Ah f***, what a prick!’ But one of the Lions staff helped to get me Stuart Hogg’s. That was cool – it doesn’t fit though.”
When Western Force were pushed out of the competition and competition for spots increased Reid found himself sidelined. He left for England in 2018, and became England qualified in late 2021.
An England jersey still seems a long shot, but desirable nonetheless.
“If the opportunity came I’d definitely put my hand up,” said Reid. “I don’t know if my parents would let me stay at home if I went back! I haven’t been contacted by anyone, and need to play well for Gloucester, but if the opportunity came it would be pretty epic.”
A hand injury to Courtney Lawes is threatening his place on tour and might give Reid the opening.
“It’d be tough to wedge my way in there, but you never know.
“Coming here has revitalised my career and given me a second shot of playing professional rugby. I would definitely repay the favour if asked.”
Veteran commentator Greg Clark joins The Roar experts Brett McKay and Harry Jones on this week’s edition of the podcast. Stream it here or in you app of choice
Bell call shows value of 20 minute red
NSW Waratahs assistant coach Chris Whitaker says Angus Bell’s red card, and subsequent call by the judiciary that it was wrongly waved, shows the value of a 20-minute red card.
“Safety of the player is the most important thing, but I think 20-minute red card is a great idea,” Whitaker told reporters.
“You saw at the weekend, we got back into that game. It was 30-27. But back in the day it was a red card in the first two minutes and that was the end of the game.
“The only question mark you have there is if you have a red card and the opposition lose a player with injury because of that red card [foul], you ask is 20 minutes sufficient for that? But I think in this case, 20 minutes was probably justified. The refs thought it was a red card but 20 minutes later we had someone back on and got back in the game.”
The 20-minute red card is being used, essentially on trial for World Rugby, in Super Rugby but has critics in the north hemisphere where it is considered an insufficient punishment to stop dangerous contact.
Whitaker stressed he didn’t want to criticise referee Nic Berry, who had his decision rejected by the SANZAAR judiciary.
“It is very hard, in the heat of the moment, for a referee to decide black and white. There are too many grey areas in the game, and that’s why people love the game as well,” Whitaker said.
He added that Bell was angry at himself for giving Berrry the opening to send him off.
“You take all that out of the referee’s control by not doing it,” Whitaker said.
“Angus was more disappointed in himself than anything, to be put himself in the situation. Whether it was a red card or whether it wasn’t, puts himself in the view of the refs. Out of anyone, he was (the most) gutted, to put himself in that situation. You just can’t do that.”
‘Do we need to start fining players?’
The increase of cards this season has caused consternation, and former All Blacks John Kirwan and Jeff Wilson have raised the prospect of introducing fines to stem the ill-discipline.
“What do we need to do then? Do we need to start fining players? How are we going to have change? We are continuing to let our game fall into this. You’ve got to plan for it,” Kirwan said on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.
Wilson added: “I’m getting frustrated right now because I’m not seeing any changes in behaviours from the players. They are the ones that are responsible. We are quite often putting it on the referees, putting the challenge on them. How about the players making some concessions?
“We are not seeing changes in behaviour. Are we just supposed to get used it? We expect to see cards every week, it’s unacceptable.
“I think for me, for the foul play thing. If it’s a controllable situation where it is lazy … whether you lose half your pay, whatever it may be, I think you are endangering the reputation of the sport and the example you are setting for the fans across the world.”
Wallaroos name squad for Test series
Wallaroos Head Coach, Jay Tregonning has confirmed his 32-player squad for the upcoming Test series against Fiji and Japan, with 22 uncapped player.
NSW Waratahs Georgina Friedrichs and Sera Naiqama will be in contention for their long-awaited Test debuts being key figures within the Wallaroos outfit for the last two years.
Experienced fly-half Trilleen Pomare returns to the group for the first time under Tregonning.
The Fijiana Test will be the first for the Wallaroos, before the team take on Japan at Bond University on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 10 May.
Tregonning said: “The coaching group has been impressed by the amount of quality rugby throughout the Buildcorp Super W season; it’s certainly made selection decisions challenging.
“These two Test matches are crucial to our Rugby World Cup preparation. We are fortunate that we can welcome Fiji and Japan, two strong rugby nations, who are also competing at the Rugby World Cup, to Australian shores.
“I know both matches will be incredibly competitive and a real treat for our fans and supporters.”
Wallaroos Squad
Iliseva Batibasaga – NSW Waratahs
Emily Chancellor – NSW Waratahs
Annabelle Codey – Queensland Reds
Lori Cramer – NSW Waratahs
Piper Duck – NSW Waratahs
Georgina Friedrichs – NSW Waratahs
Grace Hamilton – NSW Waratahs
Tamika Jones – Western Force
Asoiva Karpani – NSW Waratahs
Janita Kareta – Melbourne Rebels
Grace Kemp – Brumbies
Kaitlan Leaney – NSW Waratahs
Michaela Leonard – Brumbies
Ashley Marsters – Rebels
Lillyann Mason-Spice – Brumbies
Jemima McCalman – Brumbies
Arabella McKenzie – NSW Waratahs
Tiarna Molloy – Queensland Red
Layne Morgan – NSW Waratahs
Mahalia Murphy – NSW Waratahs
Sera Naiqama – NSW Waratahs
Bridie O’Gorman – NSW Waratahs
Siokapesi Palu – Brumbies
Shannon Parry – Queensland Reds
Liz Patu – Queensland Reds
Pauline Pilae – NSW Waratahs
Trilleen Pomare – Western Force
Madison Schuck – Queensland Reds
Cecilia Smith – Queensland Reds
Adiana Talakai – NSW Waratahs
Melanie Wilks – Queensland Reds
Ivania Wong – Queensland Reds
Godwin off to France
Western Force vice-captain Kyle Godwin will depart the club at the end of the Super Rugby Pacific season to join French Top 14 side Lyon.
Godwin rose through the ranks of the Future Force Foundation Academy to make his Super debut as a 19-year-old in 2012.
He has since gone on to notch 100 Super appearances, 76 of which have been for the Force.
Godwin moved to the Brumbies for a two-year stint at the end of 2016 and then spent time in Ireland before rejoining the Force in 2020.
The 29-year-old, who notched his one and only Test for the Wallabies in 2016, said it was a tough decision to leave his hometown club.
“I left no stone unturned in my decision-making process and have ruminated over it for a considerable amount of time,” Godwin said.
“It is the right time in my career for a new experience and to take on a new challenge.
“I’ve loved every minute at the Force. They have given me the opportunity to live out my childhood dreams and nurtured me throughout my entire career, which I’m eternally grateful for.
“The club is moving in an exciting direction with an abundance of young homegrown talent rising through the ranks and I know the future is bright for the Force.”
The Force are currently clinging to eighth spot with a 2-6 record, and they face the ladder-leading Blues (8-1) at HBF Park on Friday night.
(With AAP)