‘He’d walk into the Wallabies’: Japan benefit from Australian-raised talent

It is now a common occurrence: the Wallabies running out for a Test match and finding one or two Australian-raised players in the opposing team.

In July, the French had three, Italy had two(ish) and Ireland would have had a couple but for injury.

This week in Osaka, however, the red and white Japanese jersey may as well have a golden hoop, too, with up to five Australians – and the coach – representing the Brave Blossoms.

And while many of them – and those July rivals – are players whose Test match calibre largely emerged after leaving, one of the Aussie Blossoms is a 205cm lock who was always forecast to be a 100-Test Wallaby until a messy exit from the Reds in 2020.

“He’d nearly been a walk in to the Wallabies, in my opinion,” former Wallaby Sean McMahon said.

The player in question is Harry Hockings, who is set to line up against the Wallabies on Saturday along with Dylan Riley, Jack Cornelsen, Ben Gunter and possibly Sam Greene.

Hockings was a rising star in Brisbane, who played for the Junior Wallabies and made his debut for Queensland in Super Rugby at 19 years of age in 2018.

Then-coach Brad Thorn believed Hockings could play 100 Tests for Australia, but his career path shifted during COVID, when he and Reds teammates Isaac Lucas and Izack Rodda refused to agree to the 60 per cent pay cut imposed on players when the competition was suspended. The trio were stood down by Thorn and the Reds, and all three moved overseas. Hockings and Lucas joined Suntory in Japan, and have stayed there since.

Having become eligible for Japan via the five-year residency provision, Hockings was called up by Jones last year, and though he was eligible to make his Test debut against the Wallabies in October, Jones held him back for a first cap against Wales the next month.

This week in Osaka, Hockings will take on Australia for the first time.

McMahon, who played 24 Tests for the Wallabies and is a teammate at Suntory, said Hockings is a “workhorse” and a highly skilled big man, who has similar traits to All Blacks greats Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock.

“There’s not much he can’t do for his size and weight getting around the field,” McMahon said.

“It’s not often you see those big locks that have a lot of skill around the park, not just as lineout guys, but actual skilled players with their offloads and their running games.

“So I’d say ‘Hocko’, he’s a well-rounded player. He excels in a lot of areas, but he’s very good at most parts.”

‘He’d nearly been a walk in to the Wallabies, in my opinion.’

Former Wallaby Sean McMahon on Japan player HarryHockings

McMahon said he didn’t speak to Hockings about his decision to represent Japan, but says it reflects a similar pattern to the likes of Tom Staniforth, Manny Meafou, Sione Tuipulotu and Mack Hansen: repaying the faith shown in them by another nation.

“He put in the time and effort, as have a lot of the players that do come up there and have made that decision to do their five years,” he said.

“As much as it would have been difficult to give up on Australia, he’s made the decision that works for him.

“Those two boys for France [Meafou and Staniforth], great players. Manny was around when I was at the Rebels; he was a very young man then. I can’t believe Australia let both those fellows go, and obviously, they’ve let Tom and Harry go as well.”

Though he could potentially also be eligible to switch to Japan, having not played for Australia since 2021, McMahon, 32, says he wouldn’t consider it.

Gunter, Riley and Cornelsen have all played against the Wallabies before. The trio played schoolboy rugby in Brisbane before making early moves to Japanese club rugby, all for the Saitama Wild Knights.

Riley and Cornelsen (the son of former Wallaby Greg) played in the National Rugby Championship for Queensland teams in 2017-18 before moving to play in Japan.

Riley, a centre, made his debut for the Blossoms in 2022 and is now a mainstay, with 42 caps. Cornelsen, an industrious back-rower, first played for Japan in 2021 and has 33 caps.

Gunter, 28, moved to Japan straight after school, and the flanker played Super Rugby for the Sunwolves before making his debut in the same game as Riley, against Uruguay in 2022. He has 21 caps.

Greene, 31, is a five-eighth and fullback who played for the Reds 10 times in Super Rugby in 2014-15 but moved to Japan looking for an opportunity. He played his first game for Japan last year and has four caps.

Greene came off the bench against Ireland and Italy in July, but was not in the side that played against France.

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