‘I hadn’t seen a gym until I was 17’: How a rising country cricket star made Waratahs home

4 weeks ago 15

The headlines at the NSW Waratahs may have been dominated by the prized signatures of Max Jorgensen and Angus Crichton , and a fight at training involving Angus Scott-Young and Miles Amatosero, but 20-year-old Sid Harvey could still become one of the stories of the year.

In Saturday’s trial game against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane, Harvey scored a try and kicked six conversions, giving a glimpse of what is possible for a gifted player who is equally comfortable on the wing or at fullback, and who could provide direct competition for Jorgensen.

Sid Harvey races away from the Reds’ defence to score in a trial game on Saturday at Ballymore.

Born and raised in the country town of Narrabri, more than 500km north-east of Sydney, Harvey did not experience a traditional pathway to professional rugby from his local high school, and that suited him just fine.

“I want to be a role model for people who think there’s not a pathway from country footy,” he said. “It’s still such a brilliant pathway. I think it’s so underused, and it’s an untapped market of footy players.

“It was obviously hard. You come to Sydney to play as part of NSW Country or CHS and these boys have been in gyms since they were 14 – they’ve been eating dumbbells. I hadn’t seen a gym until I was about 17.”

Every time Harvey plays rugby, he wraps his wrists and draws a circle. It reminds him of his tight support group in Narrabri. He reflects on his mum, Carmel, and his dad, Denis. He thinks about local miners finishing nine-hour shifts then running water out onto the field for him at Narrabri Blue Boars rugby club. Their collective sacrifice to get him to professional rugby is something he won’t forget.

“My friends, my family and everyone I represent back home, I think it means a lot more to them than I realise,” Harvey said.

“I try not to forget that. I try to place a fair bit of importance on it. The minute I stop thinking about that and start thinking about how I can be a better footy player or how good I look in my new boots, I think I’d stop playing footy then.”

At Narrabri High School, Harvey once gazed at the honour board and saw the names of former Wallabies Chris Latham, Scott Gourley and Michael Brial, giving him an easy reference as to how far rugby could take him.

However, his first love was cricket, representing Country NSW as a gifted all-rounder.

Four years ago, at the height of COVID-19, he was given time to talk to Nathan Lyon on Zoom about the champion off-spinner’s journey from country NSW ovals to the Ashes.

Sid Harvey trains with the NSW Waratahs.

“I was actually late – I was up chasing goats with my dogs and had to come back down and jump on the Zoom with him, but that was pretty surreal, it was pretty cool,” Harvey said.

“For a long time, I thought I was going to pursue cricket. Dad always said to me, ‘Just pursue cricket, mate, that’s your game’, because I was always pretty skinny. I loved playing footy, but I was never the biggest, fastest. I just found a way, I suppose.”

Three years after representing Country NSW at the under-17 national cricket championships, squaring off against NSW Metro captain Sam Konstas, Harvey’s decision to prioritise rugby has been rewarded handsomely.

In April, in front of 40,000 fans in Hong Kong, Harvey scored a last-minute match-winning try for Australia’s sevens team against Fiji to seal a bronze medal. He was then named in the team of tournament for Super Rugby Aus for the Waratahs after missing just two of his 19 shots at goal.

Now he wants to not only learn from Jorgensen and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, but to earn their respect as a regular teammate.

“For me personally, just being able to learn off them, I kind of pinch myself most days,” Harvey said. “I’m like, what am I doing here? It’s a bit surreal, but I’m toeing the line between fanboying and trying to learn as much as I can, and also competing.

“I’m trying to beat these guys for a spot. I’m not trying to sit the whole time and just watch them and be in awe of them.

“I’m starting at a point now where it comes to selection time, and I’m competing for a spot. Obviously, I want to make my Super Rugby debut this year. Not only that, I want to find a consistent spot on the team and stay there and be a really important member of the Waratahs.”