Dave Porecki understands the journey is only half done but given his journey, it's a half that's worth celebrating.
Porecki was one of six uncapped Wallabies named in the 35-player squad for the England series.
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The 29-year-old has been a central piece of the Waratahs' revival, returning in 2020 after an extensive stint overseas in England.
“It’s something I’ve been working towards for over a decade now so you can probably imagine the elation I felt when I got that call,” Porecki told reporters.
“This isn’t the end point in my mind. You’ve just made the squad so you need to put in for the next two weeks and try and get into the team.
“(Dave Rennie) said he was happy for me after what happened last year, but the work starts here with me now so I’m looking forward to it.”
Porecki's first stint with the Waratahs was limited - only two minutes of on-field action against the Cheetahs in 2015.
Knowing he had to improve his game, the hooker opted to head to England and the place of 'fundamentals' in order to hone his craft.
“In my mind, when I left Saracens in 2015, I left for the sole purpose of getting better in areas of my game that was very weak which was my set piece," he explained
“I went over to England essentially looking to utilise whatever I could with the facilities and the resources they have to make me a better player to eventually come back home.
“As the years went on and the contract extensions happened, you stay there for longer and longer and eventually it happened that I came back and I can pursue a dream that I’m after.
“When I was over there, I wasn’t saying I really want to play for England, it was always Wallabies, it was also what can I do to put myself in a better position to be able to make the squad which I’ve now done which is step one in my journey.”
Having established himself as part of a formidable London Irish pack following a stint with powerhouses Saracen, Porecki took the chance to return home with open arms as part of the delayed 2020 Super Rugby AU.
He won the starting hooking job in round three of the 2021 edition and has been on the radar of Dave Rennie and selectors ever since.
Amid a winless Waratahs season, a Wallabies call-up looked set for the France series before a freak calf injury ended any hopes of a maiden cap.
“So my injury was a bit weird because I think a couple of people thought I just had a calf strain but actually I had apparently quite a rare calf injury that I separated both my calf muscles from each other,” Porecki said back in December.
“The medical team were a bit stumped about how to approach this so there was a point where I was getting a little bit worried because I’d haven’t seen it before. It kept me out of any end-of-year stuff which was frustrating.
“I knew something was wrong when I did it. I could feel it wasn’t just a normal calf strain but as the weeks went on and more scans I got, they eventually got a clear picture of how much damage I did to my calf. It was a bit of a longer journey than what I thought but I’m feeling confident with it now finally and it’s on track.”
Porecki enters camp a much more relaxed and calm player than the 22-year-old who ran out for North Harbour Rays as part of the NRC, singing songs in his head before each lineout to keep calm.
There are still tendencies that remain, the constant moving of his hands before any throw, but Porecki's long journey to the International stage has rimed him to step up if called upon by Dave Rennie throughout the series.
“As you do when you get older, you tend to think less really, you tend to think about nothing,” he noted. “When you’re younger you think about all types of things, almost that fear of failure…there used to be little tricks and tips when I was 21 where I would start singing a song in my head to get my mind off it but as you progress through, it becomes natural, a next job focus.
“Inevitable as a hooker, if you are having 15 throws a game, you’ll miss a few but it’s always about that next throw. You have to clear you’d mind, get your thought process clear and execute.
“...It’s an incredibly exciting series isn’t it? It’s going to be amazing playing England three times, it’s a great tour for them as well to come over to Australia. There’s a bit of buzz around the series.”
