Returning back-rower Sean McMahon is excited at the prospect of pulling on the gold jersey once again as he pushes his case for selection for Saturday's clash against Argentina.
McMahon entered a Wallabies camp full of confidence last week, which was only heightened after last Saturday's win over South Africa.
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Whilst he may feel like an 'old bull' amongst the youthful squad, the former Rebel is making rapid progress as he adds further competition to an already stacked back-row.
Speaking to media, McMahon praised the efforts of Dave Rennie and the coaching staff for accelerating his development along with building confidence across the playing groyp.
“It’s great to be back training alongside the boys and being around the environment,” he said on Monday.
“Obviously a lot of new faces here compared to when I was here last time. It’s been exciting, (a) lot on my plate in regards to new knowledge and training, remembering all the named but it’s been good.
“The coaches are doing their job so well. I’ve been only here a couple of days and they're so to the point with what you want in regards to plays, defence, what we’re trying to achieve in each game which is huge for a player.
“When we know that, your confidence as a player and a team is high because you know what you're striving to achieve whether it’s defence or attack and every part of the game.”
Despite completing two-week quarantine before joining the squad, McMahon's fitness was something that has remained at the elite levels the 27-year-old is renowned for, something which Rennie praised last week.
His drive was evident during their opening training session of the week, with Wallabies social media picking up the backrower screaming "Come on, you weak dog" at himself in-between reps.
“Our S and C loaded the room with weights and a watt bike so I was basically locked in a gym for two weeks,” he explained.
“The day consisted of getting up and knocking up two or three hours in the morning, have a snooze and then jump back on the bike for 10km just to keep ticking over, there’s not much you can do locked in a room, it’s a glorified jail cell basically.”
Whilst he admitted the return happened a lot quicker than expected, the desire to play for the Wallabies never went, particularly watching with the World Cup in 2019 right on his doorstep.
“Yeah, every missing throwing on the gold jersey when they don’t have the chance anymore and playing the teams at such a high level,” he admitted when he was asked whether he missed playing for the Wallabies.
“You miss playing New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, those types of games when you are sitting on the sidelines and watching it from the tele.
“It’s good to be back and the chance to do it again is exciting.
“…My focus was on Suntory and winning titles, doing the best for them but there were times during the World Cup, held in Japan where I was, that you think geez it would be nice to be out there with your friends and be back under the lights in such a huge moment, that was the only time where I was really wanted to get back into it.”
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McMahon was coy about whether a return to gold would facilitate his return to Australia, leaving all options on the table.
“I’m unsure, I haven’t really got to that stage,” he added.
“It’s all happened pretty quickly for me to come back into the team. It happened within a couple of days and I was on a plane and into quarantine. My focus was more getting through quarantine and focusing on the games that I had ahead than what’s coming at the end of this year and into the next.”
