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.
