NSW Waratahs flyhalf Jack Debreczeni is leaning on his past mistakes and learnings as he goes on a mini reunion trip across Super Rugby Pacific.
Debreczeni was integral in the Waratahs’ 30-28 win over the ACT Brumbies, ending a near decade long drought in the nation’s capital.
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It was the 32-year-old’s first game back at GIO Stadium since leaving the Brumbies, the club that brought him back to Australia in 2023.
“It was an awesome experience to go back and play against a lot of friends down there in a club that I hold in high respect,” he said to reporters.
“I knew what the challenge would be to go down to Canberra and get the win.”
The tour doesn't stop for the playmaker, with the Waratahs now tasked with taking down the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
Debreczeni spent a season with the Chiefs in 2019, replacing Damian McKenzie as flyhalf after the All Black’s ACL injury, ending his World Cup hopes.
He took them to the quarter-finals, before falling to a Los-Pumas lathered Jaguares in Argentina.
With over a decade of experience, the former Rebel is leaning on his own personal learnings rather than his inside knowledge of the club in the hopes of ending a 12-year wait between wins in Hamilton.
“I've made a lot of mistakes against a lot of these teams, so I know what not to do in those situations and that's probably what I lean into and try to offer some advice to some younger guys who are playing their first couple of games against these teams,” Debreczeni remarked.
“You try to lean into what maybe a team struggled with when you were at those clubs but with every year, there comes change. There has to be, otherwise you don’t evolve as a club so there’s only so much you can rely on.”
Debreczeni knows the importance of silencing the cowbells early at FMG Stadium Waikato, with a win leaping the Waratahs back into the top six.
“It's about trying to take oxygen out of that stadium through moments throughout the game and celebrating those moments, being away from home," he added.
“You need to apply pressure to keep the crowd at bay but it will come and when it comes, you've just got to make sure you solidify together, stay strong and fight through the momentum to try to wrestle it back to your favour.”
