Youngster had coach on his side
They’re the 11 words that helped Mac Grealy make a flawless debut for the Reds and stamp himself as a Super Rugby star of the future.
Reds fullback Bryce Hegarty’s match-day withdrawal with a hamstring injury forced coach Brad Thorn to make an emergency call to the highly-rated Grealy just hours ahead of Queensland’s clash with the competition-leading Blues at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, telling the teen he was set to make his Super Rugby debut.
Grealy was watching basketball with mates when he received the call and was stunned into silence when Thorn told him he was not only being called into the squad but would run on at fullback in place of the 100-gamer.
With James O’connor already ruled out of the match with a shoulder injury, Grealy could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed.
But Thorn’s reassurance that he had great belief in the former schoolboy star whose fancy footwork and poise under pressure has earned him comparisons to Wallabies great Tim Horan was followed by the words that allowed Grealy to play with fearless freedom.
“I don’t need you to be anyone else, you be you,” Thorn said.
Thorn framed his pre-match team talk around Grealy’s debut and the privilege of wearing the Queensland jersey.
“He was choking up. He said, it’s been 15 years of dreaming to wear that jersey,” Thorn said.
“He’s worked hard last year and into this year. There were a lot of people in front of him and he gets this opportunity and came in composed, it was probably good that he didn’t have a week to think about it.
“He went out there and he mixed it. He took high balls, he made tackles, kicked, ran, it was a really good night for him and one that he will always remember.
“It was sweet what it meant to him.”
The Reds close out their Super Rugby Transtasman campaign in Wellington against the Hurricanes on Friday at 7.05pm.
— news.com.au