NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar urges patience with young Super Rugby star
Before heading to Canberra, Waratahs coach Dan McKellar found himself urging the media to be patient with Brumbies’ exciting playmaker Declan Meredith and to temper their expectations for a young player continuing to learn his craft in Super Rugby.
Shortly after McKellar celebrated the crucial 30-28 victory that vindicated the Waratahs’ ship, he was doing it again – but this time with his own player: 20-year-old full-back Sid Harvey was keeping the Brumbies at bay with his nerveless kicking.
Harvey successfully scored three penalties in the final 15 minutes, each from distance and seemingly fearlessly.
The full-back finished the night in Canberra with six shots on target from six shots, after saving four from four shots in last Saturday’s defeat against the Blues. McKellar knows there is much more to come from Harvey, but the media and fans are urged not to expect too much from a player still finding his feet in professional rugby.
“He’s a great young kid, a good country boy,” McKellar said. “He comes from a lovely family. Sid is 20 but you’d think he was 28. He’s naturally quite talented, he’s just got some time and lessons, so I think he’s set for a long career.”
“As I said to Deckie throughout the week, I think he can play at the highest level time-wise. [Meredith]“First we have to let him develop and become a really good Super Rugby player – and bigger accolades will follow.”
Harvey was playing Colts rugby against lads for Easts last year. Now he is facing experienced Test players in Super Rugby and is having success.
Harvey is a popular member of the Waratah team. Gentle and down-to-earth, he grew up on the family farm in Narrabri, where he was expected to help develop his prodigious talents in cricket and rugby.
Initially, Harvey favored cricket as a talented all-rounder who earned selection for the NSW Country squad. As a fast bowler, Harvey learned the value of precise routine and accuracy. Line and length transferred to kick impact point.
Despite being 14 points behind the Waratahs on Friday, the Brumbies managed to make it 21-21 in the 65th minute and gain momentum towards the closing moments of the game. When the Waratahs were awarded a penalty over 40 metres, captain Matt Phillip had no hesitation in calling for Harvey to stand up and kick.
“I looked at him and said, ‘Are you feeling confident here?’ I said. He said ‘yes’ and we set off. Like Dan said, Sid has some class,” said Phillip. “I’m so happy for him, he deserves it with his current form and I hope that continues for him.”
Harvey has only played four games in Super Rugby but highlighted McKellar’s claim that he was acting older than his age when called in for a post-match interview with Stan Sport.
Despite the microphone malfunctioning twice, Harvey was still able to express his thoughts perfectly.
The young full-back’s only brief moment of doubt came when his final strike was displayed on the big screen and he was unable to look at it out of frustration as the ball did not quite split the posts.
Harvey’s calmness on and off the pitch came with the encouragement of his parents, Denis and Carmel, who regularly drove more than six hours from Narrabri to catch home games in Sydney.
“Whenever I played with the lads I would get nervous and try to do everything, so I would play very badly,” Harvey said.
“My dad would pull me up and just say, ‘Dude, relax, breathe.’ I noticed that if I was in the back. [playing fullback]These are the times when I feel comfortable. I can see the game. “It probably looks like a million thoughts are going through my head, but I probably look a little calmer.”
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