I this week, I had the opportunity to interview Queensland Lock, Wilson Blythe! Right after training, we caught up and chatted about his experiences with the Reds so far as well as his club team - Bond University (the final game for the regular club season is this weekend!)
I always love catching up with new members of the team and was reminded that the future looks very bright for the Reds! I hope you enjoy reading our conversation as much as I enjoyed interviewing him!
Yeah, of course! Happy to be here, keen to have a chat.
How has your experience been so far being around the Reds?
Yeah, really good. I was a bit part-time during the last pre-season, I wasn’t full-time, but it was a good experience coming into this year.
After doing pre-season part-time I went down and did a bit of time with the academy as the season kicked off, then a few injuries happened and I was brought in as cover in the wider squad. So yeah, it was an awesome experience last year and should be a good experience moving forward into this season.
What have been some of the highlights so far for you in the Reds team?
Definitely being a part of a professional sporting program has been a cool pretty insight - just the programs and the level of expertise they have, coaches, staff and players, has been eye-opening and a pretty cool experience. I went to Auckland last year which was pretty cool as well… so a bit of travelling!
Since the Super Rugby season finished, what has training looked like?
Fortunately we’ve had the club season just after Super Rugby finished, so I’ve been in that primarily. That’s kept the fitness going and the body ticking over.
And also here, we’ve been going with the Reds academy, getting into the gym and getting a bit of size heading into pre-season kicking off in a couple of weeks.
What do you love most about your club Bond University?
Yeah, I love playing for Bond. We’re just wrapping up the season, unfortunately we couldn’t quite make it to the finals -we’ve got our last game against Easts this week at home. What I love about the team - they’re just a good group, a real tight group of players and coaches and everyone just sort of has a good time and gets around each other. I really enjoy the atmosphere that we bring there. It’s a good program and a good team.
What have been some key takeaways from your club rugby experience this year?
I think just playing week in, week out has been pretty beneficial for me, I had a few injuries on and off over the last couple of years and covid was a bit of a distraction in the middle there. So I think just getting some solid game time and games stringed back to back has been really beneficial for me personally and playing first grade has been unreal. We played against James O’Connor over the weekend and also Harry Wilson and a few of the other Reds boys, Hamo, Hoops and Smithy, so playing against that calibre of players has been pretty cool to get to do in club rugby. It’s been an unreal season and definitely I’ll take that experience moving forward.
Who was it that inspired you to play rugby?
I’ve always grown up playing rugby... my dad played in Sydney for a bit and in Newcastle... Me and my brother [fellow Bond Uni and Red team-mate Angus] both played growing up, it was something we always did and enjoyed doing as a family... I made some rep teams and stuff and really just enjoyed it and kept at it. My dad’s been a bit of an inspiration, as he was a player, but it’s just something we’ve all loved doing. It’s been a huge social experience for us, we’ve met so many people through playing rugby that have become friends, it’s been unreal.
What’s life like for Wilson Blyth outside of rugby?
Um... I’m pretty quiet, I don’t do too much. I like to have my downtime by myself and with my partner at home... I started playing a bit of golf this year, so that’s my hobby at the moment that I’m working on.
But overall, I love going home or getting down to the beach and having a swim, I’m pretty quiet outside of rugby, I just like to switch off and have a bit of down-time.
What is your favourite post-training session meal?
I’m a pretty big Mexican fan, so nachos maybe... I’m trying to put on weight at the moment, so there’s been some pretty good meals recently - so home-made burgers... pasta’s been a go-too recently, as well.
Thanks for chatting today, Wilson. All the best for pre-season, heading into next year.
Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having me Tom. It’s been a pleasure.
