'All on a level playing field': Tahs enforcer eager to impress Eddie Jones

Waratahs enforcer Lachlan Swinton has a point to prove to himself and Wallabies selectors in Super Rugby Pacific ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Touted as a superstar of tomorrow, Swinton entered the fray of international rugby against the All Blacks in Brisbane just over two years ago.

While the flankers debut was marred by unwanted history – as he came the first Wallaby to be red carded on debut – Swinton was set for a long Test career in gold.

But the rising star sustained a cruel injury blow in the opening round of Super Rugby Pacific last year, which has seemingly seen him fall down the pecking order at Blindside Flanker.

After almost a year on the sidelines, Swinton continued to battle through a gruelling pre-season with the Tahs as he eyed a return to competitive rugby.

Meanwhile, former Wallabies coach Dave Rennie named a 44-player squad for a camp on the Gold Coast in January – include 10 loose forwards.

Swinton wasn’t one of them.

But Rugby Australia’s stunning decision to replace Rennie with legendary coach Eddie Jones ahead of the World Cup may work in Swinton’s favour.

The hard-hitting No. 6 believes everyone is “on a level playing field” now that Jones is at the helm.

“Everyone’s on a level playing field now,” Swinton told RugbyPass. “You’ve got lads who were playing and getting connections together within the team and building rapport within the squad.

“The fact I haven’t played with the Wallabies for a year or so now, so I guess we’re all on a level playing field in a sense.

“Obviously a bit of everything got turned on its head at the top end there, so it’ll be interesting to see.

“It’s also exciting in way, he does bring excitement Eddie.

“I’ve heard about some yarns and that about him before and he seems like an intense dude in the best possible way when it comes to training and games.

“Very, very keen to push my bill forward and I know I’ve got to put good performances together and show him what I’m made of because I haven’t played for a while so I’m keen do that.

“If he wants me, I’m keen to lace up and put that Wallabies jersey on.”

The Wallaby was sidelined after a devastating injury against the Fijian Drua last year. Five months later, Swinton decided to undergo surgery for nerve damage in his right shoulder.

Swinton had been off his feet for two months at one stage, having never experienced “a big injury” like this before.

Before the injury, Swinton was playing with the mindset that he’d do “whatever I can to make it on that plane” to France for the World Cup.

But his focus quickly began to shift towards the longevity of his career.

With the World Cup now just around the corner, the NSW Waratahs star made his successful return to rugby in last weekend’s pre-season clash with the Brumbies.

While there’s still plenty of rugby to be played and work to be done, Swinton reaffirmed his desire to represent his country on the sport’s biggest stage.

“It’d be massive. A World Cup comes around once every four years. Especially based off the year I had last year, you never know what can happen,” he added.

“It’d be massive for me to go over to France and play in an atmosphere where they really do love rugby and it’s thriving over there.

“To play in a World Cup, in such an atmosphere, and then also on the other end of things just be able to pull my countries jersey on again which I don’t take lightly and I really do love doing.

“To be able to do that again really drives me and is something really special to be able to do that. Just thinking about it now, it’s something I really want to do.

“Fair few hurdles to get over before then but my main priority here is to play with the boys (at the Waratahs) again and push to win that Super title.”

The opening round of the new Super Rugby Pacific campaign is just a matter of weeks away, with the Waratahs set to host the Brumbies in week one.

The Australian heavyweights will look to deliver the knockout blow at Allianz Stadium on February 24.