Max Jorgensen, 19, is in his second year of professional rugby with NSW and his second year under the 1000-watt glare of “next big thing” spotlight. A few months out of school, Jorgensen last year lived up to the hype in his early games for the Waratahs, doing things a fresh-faced kid had no right doing against the big boys.
But a knee injury derailed his Super Rugby season, and after Eddie Jones picked him anyway and took him to France, a broken leg at training was another setback. Throw in a shoulder injury, and Jorgensen spent summer rehabbing, instead of conditioning, and this season the still-teenage talent has had a quieter season.
This week, the Waratahs elected to “rotate” Jorgensen out of the side to meet the Hurricanes on Friday, and back to club rugby. The 19-year-old will play his first game of club rugby for Randwick, in a grand final rematch against Norths.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt could do worse than deploy Jorgensen to the Junior Wallabies, instead of the senior side.
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Waratahs young gun Max Jorgensen. Credit: Wolter Peeters
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