For Melbourne-born Rob Leota, the dream of playing for the Wallabies was always that: just a dream.
Growing up in the AFL-dominated state, he admits the idea of pulling on the gold jersey was something he always thought was out of reach.
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However, his dream has turned into a potential reality after being named in Dave Rennie's 38-man squad for the upcoming France series.
After initially missing the call from new assistant Dan McKellar about his selection, his thoughts went straight to his parents, who have supported him every step of the way.
“It was pretty surreal, to be honest,” Leota said. “I missed the original call, I wasn’t on my phone so when I look at it, I saw the call from a random number and it turned out to be Dan McKellar.
“It was pretty emotional to be able to tell my family that. I dreamed of what my father wanted from me which was pretty cool to achieve so it’s now about taking it with both hands and to the next level.
“Dad went for a walk as I called mum, so I told him a bit after. As soon as I heard my dad’s voice, I started crying straight away. My mum and dad are my biggest supporters throughout so it was good to be able to tell them first, they mean the most to me.”
Leota joins an ever-growing list of Victorian-born players making the next step to the national level.
He is flanked in the squad by fellow 'Burn boy Pone Fa'amausili and good mate Rob Valetini, with Trevor Hosea training alongside the squad in Sanctuary Cove as an extra squad member.
For Leota, having that representation and following the steps of Christian Lealiifano and Jordan Uelese allows them to show those in Victoria that it's possible.
“It’s huge. Obviously us being born and bred there, the rugby coming through schools and club, it’s not one of the states to look out for so we always had that chip on our shoulder growing up playing for our state especially against NSW and Queensland. It’s the sport that everyone wants to play growing up there ” he admits.
“Those little communities, they have so much support for us and we definitely don’t forget those guys that helped us get here. It’s definitely big from our end.
“Sometimes when you are in Victoria, it seems like a dream you can’t reach because we had never seen anyone from Melbourne do it.
“Being able to see guys like Christian Lealiifano, Jordan Uelese who are born in Melbourne helped our journey and made us want to go for it.
“Especially seeing Jordan, because he was our age coming through, we thought it was something that we could do as well. If one of our close boys could do it, why couldn’t we?”
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Victorians will potentially get the chance to see the likes of Leota, Valetini and Fa'amausili up close when the series heads to Melbourne for the second Test on July 13.
Whilst a maiden Wallabies cap is enough motivation, Leota admits the prospect of running out in front of his family would be the cherry on top.
“Seeing that Test in Melbourne if it does come through, that would mean a lot for me,” Leota said.
“Being able to run out in front of my friends and family in the city I was born in, I know it would be a surreal experience and something meaningful for not only me but my mum, dad, brothers and sisters as well as all the junior clubs coming through.”
