Jig is up for Rodda as Thorn raises bar
IZACK Rodda only needs to look across the Queensland Reds gym at coach Brad Thorn out-lifting him for the spur to keep pushing to become a better, stronger lock.
No player in the “Thornboys” makeover at the Reds is getting a more precise education than the towering 21year-old in Thorn’s old position for the All Blacks.
“It’s a bit funny to go in there and see him squatting 190kg when you’ve got 100 on the bar,” Rodda said of gym workouts.
“You’re like, ‘Sweet, I’ve got a bit of a way to go’ because he does still lift heavier than most of us.”
Rodda epitomises the fight to the limits that Thorn is demanding from his young side for Saturday night’s clash against South Africa’s Bulls at Suncorp Stadium.
Three times in the win over the ACT Brumbies last Friday, it looked like Rodda’s night was over as he pushed to play his first 80-minute game in seven months.
He climbed off the turf to keep working with his lungs burning, his elbow hyper-extended, after prop Taniela Tupou accidentally torpedoed him in a tackle, and left him with a shoulder stinger.
Don’t expect a medal ceremony for effort like that in the Thorn era because it should be the standard.
“Good. He’s leaving everything out on the field,” Thorn deadpanned post-match.
Rodda is calling the lineouts at the Reds this year and has shifted sides of the scrum to pack behind Tupou’s XXL rump.
“It’s unreal having a second-rower as a coach because you get all these extra little things about how to go about your work,” Rodda said.
“It’s definitely helped my transition to a tighthead scrummaging lock.”
Rodda’s early return to the Reds after major shoulder surgery justifies his tough call to have the operation rather than play the Wallabies’ Test against the All Blacks last October.
A strong Super Rugby season will make him a frontline choice to face Ireland in June’s eagerly awaited threeTest series. Tickets go on sale today from 9am for the Test against the Six Nations leaders at Suncorp on June 9.
Joining in the fun yesterday with Irish dance group Scoil Ard Rince at Suncorp Stadium was beyond the call of duty.
“The Irish are having a cracker of a Six Nations and playing some great rugby but my Irish dancing definitely needs some work,” Rodda said.
“I was pretty gutted to have the shoulder op before the All Blacks Test but it meant I’m now back playing earlier.”
IT’S UNREAL HAVING A SECOND-ROWER AS A COACH BECAUSE YOU GET ALL THESE EXTRA LITTLE THINGS ABOUT HOW TO GO ABOUT YOUR WORK IZACK RODDA