The three minutes that cost Reds halfback Werchon his debut
Louis Werchon’s Queensland Reds teammates tried to prank him ahead of his Super Rugby Pacific debut.
But a tongue-in-cheek call last week to check why he was late, an hour before the team was due to meet, backfired.
The 21-year-old halfback was already in the building.
It was no coincidence. The self-styled Sunshine Coast talent was making sure there was no repeat of what happened last year.
Named to make his debut off the bench, Werchon’s Mazda ute – complete with a plastic crown melted to the dashboard and The Goat number plate – was stuck in traffic.
He was three minutes late, renowned disciplinarian coach Brad Thorn pulling him aside at the captain’s run soon after to tell him he’d been dropped.
“Thorny just said, ‘not good enough, really’, and told me to go to the gym,” Werchon told AAP ahead of Saturday’s clash with the red-hot Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
“The meeting hadn’t even started … it (to be dropped) was pretty brutal and I definitely thought it was a bit unfair.
“Now I’m not taking any chances.
“I’m pretty sure I was two hours early all of last week.”
It’s not all talk. Werchon was five minutes early for this interview and says his entire approach to football has changed as a result of that tardy morning.
“I’ve worked a lot harder and I’m taking my footy more seriously this year,” he said.
“I still try and enjoy it as much as possible but have taken a step forward with my diet, my prep, recovery … but I’d never cut my hair (to conform).”
Werchon admits he thought his professional dreams had been dashed, the junior Wallabies talent heading back to finish his plumbing apprenticeship and hoping for the best.
He impressed new coach Les Kiss and earned a new contract late last year, former schoolmate Tate McDermott’s three-week suspension opening the door for his debut off the bench in a 31-0 defeat of the Highlanders last week.
It was the Sunshine Coast Grammar graduate’s first game at Suncorp Stadium and he didn’t shy away, launching a brilliant torpedo that wobbled to trouble the opposing fullback with his first kick.
He was happy to pick a fight with a Highlanders forward and showed the dash and dare with ball in hand that he hopes will put pressure on Kiss once Wallabies halfback McDermott is free to return.
“We’re all good mates but I’m trying to not only get (fellow halfback) Kalani (Thomas), but Tatey as well,” Werchon said.
“The dream is to wear that Wallabies jersey.”
Werchon’s teammates rate his humour and confidence while Kiss has leant into the entire squad’s personalities to get more out of a talented roster that had stalled under Thorn’s successful six-year reign.
“Les just wants us to all be ourselves – we got this far being ourselves – he’s been the best, communication-wise, footy-wise,” Werchon said.
“And Brad (Davis, assistant coach) with the backs, has been unreal.”
The Reds (4-4) kept a team scoreless for the first time since 1999 last week.
But they will face a monstrous task against the Auckland-based Blues (7-1) who put 46 and 50 points on the ACT Brumbies and Western Force respectively in the last fortnight.
“They’re clinical and we’ve got to break it down,” Werchon said.
“A win would be huge and what we did on the weekend gives us the confidence.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
2 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
2 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
2 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
2 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to comments