Hanging with Harry: An Awesome Conversation With Harry Wilson

This morning at Ballymore, I had an awesome conversation with Reds legend-in-the-making Harry Wilson!

My first official 1-on-1 interview with Harry was back in 2019 right before the Brothers final (click here to go back in time and check it out!). Since then, Harry has grown into a mainstay in the Reds forward pack, and one of the best number 8s in the country. His hard work and experience culminated last year in being named as Wallabies captain!

I enjoyed asking him about that experience, but this is Reds Rugby Rules, so I started by asking him about this years exciting Super Rugby season.....

Hey Harry, thanks for making time to catch up. I’d love to start by looking back on the 2025 season so far. How do you feel the Reds are tracking at the moment?

Yeah, we've been tracking okay at the moment. Obviously, we would have liked to have a few more wins than what we have had so far, We had a really good performance against Blues a couple of weeks ago, which gave the boys a lot of confidence, but obviously it was a tough loss to Fiji on the weekend. And we have a pretty tough remaining four game, so we have to play some really good footy to put ourselves in a good finals position.

What's been some of the highlights of the Red season so far for you personally?

I guess for me personally, it might have been beating the Highlanders over in Dunedin, for the first time in probably 10 or 12 years. For me, that was the first time I've ever captained the Reds. So it was pretty cool to win that day and especially while missing a fair few of our really good players.

And I guess another highlight was seeing the boys smash the Blues at home. That was such a big win and just the energy in the place afterwards was awesome.

What do you think that will be the team's biggest battle looking forward to the finals?

I'd say next week and this week against the Waratahs. It’s always a tough grudge match, but hopefully we should be able to get the win. They're a tough team and then into the Brumbies the week after.

 

We've got an ongoing battle with them and it's a battle we've honestly been losing over the last few years, so it's a really good opportunity for the boys to win that battle and it'll give us a lot of momentum going on to the Hurricanes and then the Fijian Drua at home to finish off. 

I can't wait until the last two home games. I'll be there at Suncorp, cheering you on.

Yep. Thanks, Tommy. I'll be there playing, too, finally!

Awesome! Can't wait! I’d love to chat about your experience with the Wallabies last year. You led the team through a fantastic European tour at the end of last year.  What were your personal highlights of that tour? 

Yeah, it was obviously a really enjoyable tour. It was my first ever spring tour and I guess to be captaining was really special. I think that win against England at Twickenham is something I won't be able to go past as a personal and team highlight from that trip, to be captain, the Wallabies winning at Twickenham against England was really special and just the way we found a way to win there at the end was awesome. And then, even our last game against Ireland, who'd be probably one of the best teams in the world, to have an opportunity to beat them with a couple of minutes to go... obviously it wasn't a highlight because we lost, but that just gave us more belief as a team to know how far we've come.

What was it like when you first heard the news that you would become a Wallabies captain? 

Yeah, it was a pretty unbelievable feeling. It was something I definitely didn't expect, so when it was announced, I was trying to get my head around it pretty quickly and then once you hear that, it's about how can I do my job for the team from there and seek a lot of advice from the senior members of the team. They were so supportive of me and it really helped me grow into that role, because obviously at the start, I was quite new to “captaining” and being in that situation. So it was something I felt like I improved every week and grew into, but definitely took me by surprise. Yeah, it was such an honour. 

That actually links to one of the other questions I had prepared, which is... What's some advice from a mentor or a friend that has helped you over the last year or so? 

Hmmm. I've been pretty fortunate over the last year to be able to speak to so many special people and get advice. It's been nice to hear Reds old boys when you have people such as John Eales, Michael Lynagh, some of the greatest ever players of the game of rugby to be giving me advice, through the good times and tough times. What probably sums those two people up was when we got lost by 60 in Argentina, when it was a pretty low time and a tough time to be captain, that was when those two both reached out to me and I just remember, Ealesy giving me advice of just reflecting on the game about how everyone was feeling before, at post and during and just if you can take any learnings from that. So next time, if you feel the team's feeling a bit off or something like that, you can take your learnings from there and improve. I think that really sums them up, as human beings, not... I guess, just messaging in good times, they're really looking out for you when it's a bit tougher than, I guess, when it's a nice win against England.

How cool was it having the Wallabies home based at Ballymore last year? And what do you think the team drew from those experiences?

Obviously, when you representing Wallabies, you're travelling quite a lot. You're spending a lot of time in different countries, different states, different cities. So when you spend a couple of weeks here in Brisbane, even though you're not sleeping in your own bed, just having the normal, I guess, familiarities, training here at Ballymore always make you feel a little bit more comfortable and I know the boys really enjoyed their time here.

And I think it set us up for a good year, before the first few games against Wales and Georgia and the boys had a great result there too. And the boys get excited to get to see Tommy at trainings.

What else have you been learning about life and leadership recently?

Well, I guess, for me, the more I learn about leadership, it's just more probably about being organised in your life on and off the fields. So when you are in training, you can lead by example, you can do all the little things correctly and I guess one thing about leadership is making sure your own backyard is sorted and that's something which I really make sure I do have sorted. So when I'm in here at training, I'm in here to train, I'm here to improve and I’m trying to influence boys around me to do the same. Even at the moment when I'm injured, I still have an opportunity to come in with a positive mindset around the boys and help in ways that I can, even though I'm not out there with them, going to battle. Any way I can help them off the field, with a bit of positivity or just a bit of advice, to make sure you’re always there for them. 

What are your favourite things to do outside of rugby, at the moment, that take your mind off the game? 

At the moment is probably a key time to find those things, because normally I'd say playing some golf. I love my golf and I’m a very competitive person, so that always gives me my competitive fix away from rugby. But having a broken arm has meant that my off days haven't been as enjoyable as they probably normally are, when I'm trying to take some of the boys' money on the golf course. But a lot more time for me has been spent at the cafe with my partner, or with my parents. My dad works at home a bit when he's in town, so he and I have got to catch up quite regularly, which is always nice... And I've got a little dog, Bam-Bam, too. So I try and walk it regularly and it's quite easy to take your mind away from footy or whatever bad things are happening in your life or whatever, when Bam-Bam runs up to you, nearly weeing out of excitement every time it gets to see you. So they’re probably my two things, which are keep me busy and keeping my mind sane at the moment, when what I want to be doing is out there playing footy and training with the team.

Thanks, heaps, Harry, for making time. I know you've got a lot of responsibility at the moment... hoping for a speedy recovery and to see you out there before the season's done.

Thank you very much for the interview, Tommy. I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing you at the next home game when I’m hopefully running out there, getting a win and getting a fist bump after the game with you.

Reds Rugby Rules Heads to New Zealand

It's been a while since I published an interview, so my sister suggested posting something! (Don't worry, I'll be back to more interviews soon...) If you've been following me on Instagram, you might know where I've been lately..!.!!

Reds Rugby Rules Hits Christchurch

Last year, someone suggested that I visit Christchurch for the Crusaders derby in 2025... I was keen! I had a good crew join me for the trip, including my lovely sister. (xo)

While planning the Christchurch trip, I had a friend suggest that if I'm going there, I might as well head down south to Queenstown... which straight away sounded like an awesome idea! But I digress... Rugby was the main game.

Flyings not easy for me these days, but following my favourite team makes it worth it!

The Reds were set to play the Crusaders in Round 4, and I was excited to make a trip of it, so at the start of the year, I began planning and saving. After two strong wins against Moanna and the Force, I was ready to travel to see Queensland face off against James O'Connors new team!

This was James at Ballymore, (he'd been catching up with
and helping a young player train, before he left for NZ.)

I was keen to see the Reds smash the Crusaders. (Even with my old friend from Queensland on the opposing team!) Unfortunately things didn't go our way, but I was still proud of the boys. 

Alex Hodgeman fronted up and played well for the Queensland

At 20 years old, Dre Pakeho has stepped up and left his mark for the Reds 

Catching up with Liam, Fraser and Ryan's dad, post-training

I loved catching up with some of the team after training. Thanks to Pete from the media team for linking me up with the Reds before the game! 

Had a good view up close at team training on Friday.

By the way, it was surprisingly hot in Christchurch! (And thankfully... good weather followed me almost everywhere I went throughout my trip!)

One of the only rainy days was at Captains run on Saturday

Despite the result, I was still glad I went. I'll support the my team, any day of the year, rain or shine.

I got up to plenty of things during my 12 day trip to New Zealand!

I enjoyed traveling on the Christchurch gondola with Alice...

We saw some beautiful scenery in the South Island. This pic is of Lake Hawea

On Monday after the game, we drove down to Wanaka, a beautiful lakeside town, to chill out for a couple of days. Of course, we watched lots of rugby on TV and on Youtube.

We then travelled down to Queenstown for the final four days of our trip. I loved road tripping! Great scenery... great company... lots of good times, even though I was already excited for the next Reds game coming up next weekend back home...

Rode the gondola again.... in Queenstown!!!

We also managed to make it to Milford, and caught the ferry through the Milford Sounds! I was exhausted at the end of the long trip, but it was worth it!

The morning we were about to fly from Queenstown back to the Gold Coast.... I was surprised big time with a helicopter ride. Yes, you read that right! We got to see some amazing views of Queenstown and the surrounding mountain area!

As awesome as that was, I was still more excited to get on the plane back in time to watch the Reds play the Waratahs at Suncorp!

Now THAT was a good game..... 😁😁😁

An Excellent Conversation with Reds and Wallabies Hooker Matt Faessler

Back in February, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Matt Faessler for our very first Reds Rugby Rules chat! As a consistent force in the Reds’ "number 2" jersey for the past few years, Matt has also earned his place as one of the Wallabies' top hookers.

Down-to-earth and humble, Matt shared insights on how the Reds are shaping up this season, his personal rugby journey and much, much more.

I hope you enjoy reading our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it!

First of all, congrats on a great team first win of the season and a great individual run off the bench as well!

Sweet. Thanks Tom!

How do you feel like the Reds have grown as a team, especially during the team’s pre-season trip to the UK?

The UK trip was an awesome way for the team to connect off field as much as on field, you're away and you're living in each other's pockets for two and a half weeks a have a few team socials and stuff. It was a really good opportunity for a few of the guys who'd been around the club for a while to get to meet a few of the newer, younger guys. It was really good for that sort of connection side of it.

And then, in terms of how we've been through the pre-season, I think we've seen growth in a couple of key areas. I think our attacks changed a little bit… with few little tweaks on the shape and stuff that we've been running. Our set-piece, I think, has gone to another level, which is nice. Training is super competitive. We've got some really good depth in the top five, which is awesome. It makes training tough and prepares us well for games.

What were your personal highlights from the Reds UK trip?

I think probably visiting two cities I haven't been to before, I’d never been to Bristol or Belfast.

Probably the biggest highlight was visiting Belfast and doing some of the touristy stuff. We did a blackout tour with a few of the other players and went through the history around what occurred culturally from the 1950s to the current day is pretty crazy.  We learnt about the separation of the two communities that still exists. That kind of stuff is crazy and very interesting.

You were in the UK with the Wallabies, just a few months prior! How did that tour go for you personally?

Yeah, I loved it. It was my first spring tour. I'd been to a World Cup previously, but spring tours are quite a bit different in how they're structured and the teams that you play.

I loved it. It was also a bit of a shame that the tour got cut short for me. I thought I was fortunate enough to play the first two games and was in line to start the Scotland game. But then, a day and a half out, I ended up tearing my calf, which was a bit of a shame. Rugby’s a contact sport and that's the nature of it. It gave me the opportunity to come back a bit early, rehab for a bit and then have some time away with friends and family over Chrissy, which was awesome.

I've returned, the calf strength is back to normal and I feel great running around. In terms of the trip over there, it was unreal.

The Northern Hemisphere and their support for rugby is so fierce. Playing away at Twickenham and Principality [Stadium] were two bucket list games for me.

Who would you shout out as someone that’s been working hard behind the scenes, during the pre-season?

That's a tough question because there's a fair few. Two of the younger guys that I've been really impressed with is Dre, who is in line to make his debut this weekend! [Dre did go on to debut against the Western Force a few days later.]

Dre has been training really well and Joe Brial, for sure. I think he played really well off the bench last weekend and it's no coincidence that he had a really good pre-season and trained really well.

I love hearing about peoples rugby journeys. What inspired you to play the game? And how old were you at the time?

I've wanted to play rugby for as long as I can remember. My dad played club footy in the town that I grew up in since he was at uni. I was fortunate enough to play at the same club as him in juniors, I started playing under fives. On Mum's side of the family, all of her brothers were representative players. Her dad, my grandfather, played for the Wallabies as well. He played in the first Bledisloe that Australia ever won in the 1930s! I've had massive rugby stuff on both sides of my family. It was just a coincidence that I ended up really liking it as well.

Can you tell us about your rugby club, Brothers. How did you end up there and what do you love about it?

I had a close mate of mine, Harry Hoopert, who was a year older than me at school. He graduated and the club that he started playing at was Brothers. That, in conjunction with the fact that one of my representative coaches in school was the head coach at Brothers at the time.

Through that and the rep pathways, after chatting with him and talking with Hoops, I had a meeting, went to the 2016 Grand Final which was the year I graduated school. I was still in school at the time, went with my parents, watched the Grand Final, really liked the vibe of the place and have been there since.

In terms of what I like about it, it's a really awesome community club. It's really well connected, from juniors, lower grades, through to first grade… Everyone intermingles, goes to social events together. On a Saturday, every club member hangs around and watches each other's games and has a few beers afterwards, which is awesome.

The other thing is that I've been really fortunate to live really close to the Brothers, pretty much since I've been in Brisbane, so I go there all the time. Sometimes after the training finishes here on a Tuesday or Thursday, I'll swing by and see some of the boys and watch training for a little bit.

Who were some of your rugby heroes growing up?

Probably the two Aussie ones that jump out would probably be Chris Latham… An identifying feature about him I remember was he never used to have his socks up. His socks were always down at his ankles.

And then Rocky Elsom, the Wallabies captain, he played blindside. Those two players when I was really young. I just love watching international footy. They were probably my favourite Aussies.

In terms of other teams, I played hooker quite young as well and I reckon probably my two favourite players in that position would have been Bismarck du Plessis, who's a South African hooker. He won the 2007 World Cup. And Kevin Mealamu, who was the New Zealand hooker for 2011 and 2015.

What do you enjoy most about playing in the number 2, position as hooker?

So far, playing rugby has brought you all around the world. What have been some of your favourite places to travel?

That’s tough. I'd say... London… Edinburgh and France in general. I’ve been to France a couple of times with under-20s and the World Cup. But I just love the rustle and bustle of London. The public transport's awesome, there's a heap of stuff going on there, it’s a massive city.

And then Scotland for me was sick. The Royal Mile's awesome, it’s almost like stepping into a Harry Potter book, walking around there and seeing all the cobblestone and old buildings and stuff.

What are some of your goals for the future, both in rugby and outside of rugby?

Inside of rugby would just be to...keep getting better. Keep getting better individually and contributing positively to what we've got going here at the Reds. And then hopefully off the back of that get a bit more international exposure. And then...

And goals outside of rugby, not too sure. I don't really have any at the moment.

What’s your favourite post-game feed?

Pre-game, the night before, home-made vodka pasta, and a steak. And then post-game… probably Guzman. A Cali burrito from Guzman. It's not bad!

Thanks Matt for your time, I know the season is busy at the moment. I can’t wait to see the team run out against the Force this weekend! And see you in Christchurch for the Crusaders game!

Thanks, mate. Appreciate it! Definitely see you there, sounds good.

Riordan Returns! Catching up with Queensland's Sarah Riordan

During the Super W pre-season, I had the pleasure of catching up with an old friend, the amazing Sarah Riordan! After life took her to a few different parts of Australia, I’m stoked she has recently returned to Queensland and rejoined the squad! With several big pre-season wins under their belts, the Reds have been boosted by having Sarah back in the squad.

I hope you enjoy reading our conversation! (To catch up on an earlier interview I did with Sarah, click here.)

The Reds Super W season kicks off this week, away in Fiji, against the Drua! Their first HOME game will be next week:

*** Sunday 16th March vs Waratahs 2:05pm - at Ballymore Stadium ***

Hey, Sarah, great to catch up again. Thanks for taking time out.

That’s all right! Thanks for coming! Twice in one week!

What's it been like returning back to Ballymore this year?

It's been really good. It feels like home. It's where I started, as you mentioned, in 2018, which was the first year of Super W. It's very different now, since I left in 2022, a few years ago.

But It's good, really good to be back playing Queensland rugby. I've missed it and I'm excited for the season. I'm sure you are too!

That’s an understatement! Who would you shout out as someone that's been working hard behind the scenes during the pre-season?

Hmmm… I would probably say most of the girls have been putting their little one-percenters in behind the scene. The ones that are coming back from injury, so you've got Cheetah, this weekend coming back, you had Nat Wright return, Layne return, those girls have been working extra hard, I'd say, behind the scenes just to get on the field, which is really good to see. [“Cheetah” is Bree-Anna Cheetham, or Bree-Anna Browne. She's married now!)

A lot has changed since you were last playing here. What are the positive changes you have seen in Queensland rugby over the last few years?

As mentioned before, obviously the facilities here are very different. It's good to see that we have access to all of this as well with the boys. It just gives us a good platform to work with and to build our program.

The program has stepped up a lot as well. Having someone like Nico in place to control and oversee it, to have someone purely dedicated to that, makes a big difference. And the talent, I guess, they're a lot younger, a lot faster, which is good to see.

We've got a 17-year-old and some 18-year-olds in the team, which is really good to see.

You have had an awesome career so far, you have represented your country and even played in a World Cup. I'd love to hear what you'd say some of your career highlights have been so far. 

Probably what you just stated, playing for your country is always a big achievement. Playing in a World Cup and I got to vice-captain the Wallaroos when I was in the squad.

I think those few things are definitely a highlight. I guess going over to the other side, the dark side [rugby league], was a bit of a highlight as well, for me as an athlete.

I think coming back here to Queensland and playing with this one, Layne’s joined us…

[Layne Morgan joins in to say hi.]

Sarah: I was playing club with her in Newcastle and now we're playing Super Rugby together, which is cool to see.

Layne: That's scary, that was 10 years ago!

Sarah: I think I had just finished school and Layne was coming up through.

What would your advice be for young people wanting to play professionally?

Sarah: I would say, don't get caught up in the whole… Hype, yeah, the hype and the lights and the cameras and stuff like that. I think play until you enjoy it and I think once you find that passion and that happiness in playing, the rest will come.

Instead of chasing the jersey, just chase the passion and I'm sure the rest will come. That would be my advice. Don't get too caught up in it.

What's your favourite meal post-game?

To be honest, believe it or not, I don't eat much post-game. For some reason, I don't get very hungry.

But just something full. I don't really have a favourite meal because I don't eat. I'm more just fluids.

All the best for the pre-season game in Victoria this weekend. Can't wait to see you and all of the team run out at Ballymore very soon.

Thank you, and I can't wait to have you there and watch us run out!