Jack Debreczeni relishing return to New Zealand
Jack Debreczeni’s return to New Zealand has been both a revelation and a statement of intent.
The 25-year-old has been through rugby’s wringer during the early stages of his career, but has once again hit his straps in the Mitre 10 Cup.
Hailed as a future Wallaby after a solid Super Rugby season in 2015, Debreczeni soon fell out of favour with the Rebels and took his raking punt to the Japanese Top League. After finding success with the Honda Heat in 2017, a return to Australia beckoned.
Rejoining the Rebels on a one-year contract this year, the playmaker showed flashes of a resurgence but was usurped by Wallabies midfielder Reece Hodge in the No. 10 jersey by season’s end.
At the conclusion of the 2018 Super Rugby season, Debreczeni joined Mitre 10 Cup side Northland on a two-year deal, where he has shown a commitment to sharpening his skills in pursuit of furthering his career.
“When I was in Japan last year, my uncle threw out a few messages to a couple of Mitre 10 [Cup] teams without me knowing,” he said. “He got a good response back and that was probably the first time I actually considered coming over.”
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to play. You watch it over the years in Australia and it’s a pretty good competition to watch.”
The shift across the Tasman also brings Debreczeni closer to family.
“I was born in Auckland. I was born in Middlemore Hospital in Otahuhu,” he said. “All of mum’s family still lives in South Auckland. She’s the only one who moved to Australia, so as a kid we would come over two or three times a year for holidays.”
The young playmaker already had a pre-conceived idea of what to expect when joining the Taniwha thanks to glowing reviews from a pair former Rebels teammates.
“Past relationships with Dan Hawkins and Murray Douglas, [they] had spoken nothing but praise for Northland, the club and the culture here so when the opportunity presented itself I jumped at the chance to come over here,” he said. “Playing for the Taniwha, for me, it’s a great honour with the rich history they have.”
Through Northland’s first eight games, Debreczeni has been a standout as he helps the side push for Premiership promotion.
Consistent minutes and a heavy workload in the No. 10 jersey has seen a return to form for the former Australian Schoolboys representative, racking up six try assists and scoring two tries for the Taniwha this season.
Three of his try assists came in the first half of a recent outing – a defeat against Hawke’s Bay – arguably his finest in Cambridge blue. He managed two try assists in 12 games for the Rebels this year.
The Mitre 10 Cup and New Zealand’s provincial rugby system has long been a tool for foreign players to advance their game.
Former England captain Martin Johnson spent two seasons with King Country in the early 1990s – he even represented New Zealand at junior level – while more recently Harlequins wing Nathan Earle impressed during a 2016 stint with Canterbury, and has since worked his way into Eddie Jones’ England squad.
Debreczeni is the latest relishing the opportunity to play in New Zealand.
“Just being around New Zealand, the most competitive environment for rugby players in the world, just getting over here and being amongst a competition where week to week it’s tough footy,” he said. “You’re testing your skills all the time.”
“Every country has its own way of thinking around rugby so getting out of my comfort zone – I’ve been in Australia all my life – to come here and see different structures and patterns, how players think and how coaches think has been good for me. Just adjusting to different things that rugby presents.”
The nature of the Mitre 10 Cup competition provides a tough test for players at any level, with tight scheduling and quick turnarounds wreaking havoc.
“You always want to be playing rugby rather than just running laps of the field,” Debreczeni said. “We’re in the middle of a ‘storm’ week now, or towards the end of the ‘storm’ week so we’ll find out on Sunday how the body feels.”
“You have to get over games pretty quickly and move on to the next week.”
The experience Debreczeni has gained from playing in the Mitre 10 Cup has been priceless and is an opportunity that players from overseas should pursue more frequently.
“I think Australia still needs to establish their competition so I’m not going to say ‘don’t play NRC’. I think it’s vital for Australian rugby that they have that competition,” he said. “But if an opportunity [to play Mitre 10 Cup] does present itself, I would jump at it because you’re throwing yourself in a new environment that’s probably one of the most competitive in the world.”
“You’re testing yourself against some of the best players in the world.
“There’s rivalries and there’s the Ranfurly Shield which makes things a lot more exciting, where I guess the NRC doesn’t have that at the moment because teams don’t have a long history.
“I would say to guys looking for opportunities at the end of the club season or towards the end of Super [Rugby], if they do have the opportunity to come over here I’d recommend it.”
Debreczeni’s Taniwha currently sit third on the tightly contested Championship log, with games against Waikato and Bay of Plenty remaining before a hopeful semi-final berth.
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Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments