Versatile Wallabies star still in the dark over his role with the Reds

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Wallabies and Reds utility back Jordan Petaia is full of optimism ahead of the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific campaign, especially after the Brisbane-based outfit appointed a new head coach in Les Kiss.

Former London Irish boss Kiss was appointed as the Reds’ head coach last year and agreed to a deal which will see him through until 2026.

Petaia and his Reds team-mates were hard at training under Kiss’ guidance for three weeks before Christmas and are now back in pre-season training ahead of the start of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign which sees them hosting arch rivals the Waratahs in Brisbane on February 24.

Buying into Kiss’ vision

He said he is excited about the prospect of playing under Kiss and is buying into the vision which his coach has for the team.

“He’s cool, calm and collected and always trying to lift the boys. He’s got an attacking focus which is awesome,” Petaia told Rugby Australia’s official website.

Petaia’s versatility is one of his strengths as he has featured on the wing, at full-back and outside centre for the Reds and Wallabies over the past 12 months, but he revealed that he has yet to be told by Kiss which position he will be playing in during the 2024 season.

“I’d be comfortable wherever he sees fit for me to play,” he said. “Right now we are training in a system where everyone is everywhere in the backs. There’s a lot of running and players are showing their abilities to work across the park.”

He admitted that he is still coming to terms with Australia’s woeful performance at last year’s Rugby World Cup, although the fact that the Wallabies are still without a coach – after Eddie Jones’ resignation – is not something which is playing on his mind.

“To be honest, I haven’t thought about the coaching situation too much,” said Petaia. “It’s a bit refreshing not having to think about that environment right now when you can focus on what’s best for your Super Rugby team.”

The 23-year-old was the Wallabies’ first choice outside centre at the World Cup and started three of their four matches in the number 13 jersey in France before they were bundled out of the global showpiece’s knockout rounds for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Took a short break

That poor showing led to an angry reaction from the Australian public, although Petaia did not see much of that as he was on holiday in Europe.

“I don’t follow too much online so I didn’t see much of it being in Switzerland and Italy but I heard about it,” he said. “I watched the rest of the tournament (on TV) and it had that sting with not being there ourselves.

“It was just good being away from the game for a while and doing stuff outside of footy.”