‘Can’t give them an excuse’: What academy heartbreak taught Aussie 7s prodigy

Dally Bird’s ascent from the depths of disappointment to the heights of the Australian Sevens team is a tale of resilience, determination and honesty.

Just a few weeks out from the new-look SVNS season, Bird sat down with RugbyPass in the team’s Brisbane hotel ahead of the Oceania Sevens. With a few big-name players out, it was another opportunity for the 21-year-old to impress.

Bird has trained the house down during a tough preseason which dates back more than a few months. The youngster is eager to make sure the coaches don’t have “an excuse to drop me” this season.

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But that’s a motto that Bird has had to learn the hard way.

Touted as an emerging talent who’d captured the attention of both codes, Bird knocked back interest to pursue the sport that was “always instilled in me.”

The former Riverview First XV captain embarked on a life-changing journey with the NSW Waratahs’ Academy, but it all ended far too soon.

By his own admission, Bird “took it for granted.” It seems it was the wake-up call that the then-teenager needed.

The Waratahs chose not to re-sign Bird, with the towering backrower going back to club land with a point to prove. Eventually, a phone call from Australia Sevens coach John Manenti changed everything.

“After school, being one of the better players in my year and going into the Waratahs Academy, I kind of almost took it for granted at the start. I didn’t really understand what it took to be a professional footy player,” Bird told RugbyPass.

“I was in the Waratahs Academy and probably took it for granted a little bit, probably didn’t train as hard, probably didn’t do everything I could to keep going. I wasn’t really offered to keep training with that.

“Back to Colts rugby and I just had to pave my way through so definitely when Johnny gave me a call to fly over to South Africa, I kind of just said, ‘Okay this is another shot. I’ve got to do everything possible to hold on to this.’

“It was kind of that added mantra of, ‘Can’t give them an excuse to drop me, I’ve just got to make them pick me every single time.’

“It’s kind of what happened last season. I just kept getting picked for tournaments and tournaments, just kept doing my role and not giving them the excuse to drop me.”

For a talent that showed so much promise during a glistening high school career, it’s safe to say it wasn’t the start to his rugby career after graduating from high school.

In August of 2020, The Australian revealed that clubs from both rugby and the NRL were looking to sign the youngster to professional deals. But Bird has always had his heart set on rugby.

“I never played league when I was a junior. I started playing footy when I was two years old and my dad played for Two Blues… union was always instilled in me,” he explained.

“I have three older siblings who have all played union so it was always my favourite and I loved it so much, so when league did offer something I was always just looking to go to union and I decided to stay with the Waratahs and the state union.

“I’m very happy with that because it pretty much led to being here so it’s pretty awesome.”

The decision to pursue rugby has paid off so far, too. Other than that initial speed bump with the Waratahs Academy, Bird is now flying on the international stage.

With four tries to his name and plenty of frequent flyer points at the end of a promising debut season on the Sevens circuit, Bird is looking to fend off second-year syndrome in the pursuit of a dream.

The Australians booked their ticket to Paris 2024 on a thrilling final day at the London Sevens earlier this year. After losing to Samoa, they needed to beat Great Britain in the seventh-place playoff, and did so with relative ease.

Relief. The team are off to the Olympics – which, as Bird mentioned, made last weekend’s Oceania Sevens a lot less nerve-wracking – but the competition for places is set to get more fierce.

Experienced Sevens veterans Henry Hutchison and Henry Paterson missed the Oceania Sevens at Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium, but they’ll be back – others, too.

“It is tough but you thrive off it a bit. Tim Clements is in the same position as me but we kind of bounce off each other,” Bird said, when asked about team culture.

“We’re always talking, always trying to make each other better because we are a team and I know when we get on to the World Series we work really well together.

“(Tim Clements) goes on and does his role and comes off, I go on and do my role. We’re always bouncing off each other. It’s a healthy, competitive environment.”

Bird, along with some of the other younger players in the squad, didn’t experience the heartbreak and disappointment from the team’s disappointing campaign at the Tokyo Olympics.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not as hungry as those that were. With the opportunity to compete on the world’s biggest sporting stage almost within reach, Bird is ready to soar in SVNS 2023/24.

“I’ve come in a pretty good time. I was kind in and around the squad a couple of years ago but coming in full-time last year (and) just having this goal of the Olympics – that’s what we’re always working towards. It’s always on a four-year cycle, working hard to get to the Olympics.

“Blokes like (Henry) Patto, (Dietrich) Roachey, they’ve been in here five, six years and all they’ve got eyes for the gold medal at the Olympics so it brings that bit of hunger to the group.

“We know how many good players are in sevens and Australian rugby so we’ve got to earn our spot in the team.

“The end goal, the big goal is to make the Olympic team and have a positive impact over there in Paris.

“But for each tournament, I just go into the tournament knowing what my role is… I think Jonny and Chuck have got to the stage where they can trust me at the end of the game to make a tackle, make a turnover and make a pass.

“If I’m making one tackle, one turnover and one pass a game, that’s what I need to do and I’m happy.”