Jock Campbell - One to Watch in City Versus Country Derby!

Big week for Reds fans following the NRC. It’s time for the annual Brisbane City versus Queensland Country game! They call it the “Andy Purcell” cup round and this year, they’ve chosen to host the game in Gladstone! Of course… the game will be broadcast on www.rugby.com.au. But before the game… make sure you read my interview with a true “Country” boy and Reds star, Jock Campbell! 

Hi Jock, so with the Country versus City grudge match this weekend… Has there been a little bit of banter between the two teams around Ballymore this week?

Jock is loving being based at Ballymore full-time.

Absolutely. Always is. [City head coach] Jimmy Mackay’s leading it, he loves a bit of banter. Also Fraser. No malice, but all laughter. It’s fun.

There’s a bit of a coaching divide, cos obviously Crapper and Jim are with City, Seiby, Toddy are Country. Actually not Toddy. He stays cool, but with the others, it’s fun.

2019 has been a big year for you. You’ve debuted for the Reds and even scored a couple of tries. What have some of the highlights been for 2019 so far?

Obviously debuting was pretty special, overseas in Pretoria. It was a pretty awesome atmosphere. But the whole year in general has been awesome. Just being here every day and being around the boys, it’s a really good group. I really enjoyed travelling and the away games, you get to play in South Africa, New Zealand… when you take a step back and think of that, it’s pretty cool.

Congrats to you and the UQ side on winning the Hospital Cup this year! That’s 4 out of 4 finals appearances and two championships. What do you love most about playing for UQ?

Yeah, I’ve played 5 or 6 years there. I’ve learnt a lot, but it’s just fun. I used to play footy at school for fun, I never expected anything like that. I know a lot of people there, it’s just comfortable playing around them…

2 out of 4 for the grand final, it’s awesome to be a part of such a great team. There are great coaching staff too. I owe a lot to the staff there, they’ve taught me a lot. And to beat the Brothers boys was sweet, I’ve always said I can’t go 1 from 4. So 2 from 4 was inevitable.

Can you tell us about your rugby journey and how you ended up playing for Queensland?

I grew up in a country town, Inverell. I played mostly Rugby League, a bit of Union.. but League is huge in Country New South Wales. Then I went to boarding school on the Gold Coast at TSS and they only play Rugby Union there, so I played that for five years. I just love footy and cricket, I just played lots of sport.

Then I moved to Brisbane for Uni, I lived at Kings, so I played for Uni cos it was around the corner. I played for them for 3 years, then made the NRC, played a couple of years of NRC and now I’m here. So it was a bit of a longer journey than most, but I wouldn’t change it. I really enjoyed my footy all the way through. So that’s sort of my journey.

What have you loved most about being based at Ballymore full-time and playing for the Reds?

Just playing full-time, it’s cool I guess. To say it’s your job just to come in and train, where as before you did uni and work… I’d say it’s just cool. To come to Ballymore, I haven’t experienced anywhere else, but yeah it’s awesome. The gym’s a bit old school (they’re gonna knock it down soon), but I really enjoy everything here.

[It was at this moment Jim Mackay walked across to say hi. So Jock invited him into the interview.]

[Jim:] I was just going to say… big game this week Tom, but he’s a real danger man for us. We’ve got to watch this bloke, big Jock. We have to try and wrap him up mate.

[Jock:] I told him you’ve been leading the banter, between the sides.

[Jim:] Oh really? No, I’ve been very quiet this week. (Laughs). I’ll let you go. See ya guys.

See you soon Jim, all the best this weekend.

[Jock:] Not really though Jim.

Ok, so back to you Jock… what’s your favourite position to play?

I prefer fullback, just because you get to do a bit more. You get to roam and it’s a bit more of a ball playing role. But in saying that, wing is fine, I love playing there too. Especially here under Jim and Brad’s attack, they really want us to be not just on the wing but roaming, so that makes it really fun and you don’t get stuck out there. You get the license to roam and be where you want to be and so it’s fun. So overall, fullback, because you get your hands on the ball a bit more. But either or.

I know your focused on the NRC right now, but are you excited about 2020 with the Reds?

Absolutely, I can’t wait. NRC is obviously good fun and a bit more relaxed, but we’re looking forward to getting out there and proving something as a team in 2020. I think last year, once again the team showed potential but now it’s about taking that next step and everyone’s keen to work hard and show it on the field. So hopefully we can capitalise on that. 

Thanks heaps for your time Jock!

No worries, pleasure. Good questions! Very friendly, no tough ones.

Bonus: "Rugby Rules" Question

You’ve been known to perform well at 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. If you were talking to a fan who’s still learning about the game.... what’s the difference between these positions?

So 10 is the organiser, the guy that orchestrates everything… him and 9 (half-back) touches the ball the most I’d say. Centers: There’s two types of centers I guess. There’s big ball-carrying centers like Samu, although I guess he’s more a hybrid now… he can ball-play too… but then you can get centers like James O’Connor, he’s more of a skilful guy. So there’s two types of centers, big ball runners, like Sonny Bill Williams and Samu, and your skilful players.

Fullback, is like your second play maker I guess, he can organise too, if you’ve got the big centers. These days, a lot changes, depending on the balance of the side. So you can switch out ball players into other positions and have big guys in other ones. But you sort of need 2 ball players, whether that’s at fullback, or in the centers.

So in the wing… quick, steppy, big, although I’m not very big… there’s a few big boys out there unfortunately for me… tackle them around the legs I guess.

Numbers and positions for the backs are:

9: Half-back

10: Fly-half (or first five-eighth)
11: Left Wing

12: Inside Center

13: Outside Center

14: Right Wing

15: Full-back

To rugby fans out there who would like to understand the game more: what's a rule you don't always understand? What's something you would like me to ask one of the Queensland Reds to explain?