After suffering a broken arm which prematurely ended his Super Rugby campaign, the Brisbane Brothers product had set about evolving his game in 2024.
Wilson on the charge.Credit: Getty Images
Despite established club-level leaders such as Allan Alaalatoa, Nic White, Tate McDermott, James Slipper and Jake Gordon in the squad, Kiwi mentor Schmidt saw something more in Wilson.
As the Wallabies slumped, bundled out of the World Cup in the group stages for the first time, it appeared Schmidt wanted someone else to take charge.
“We didn’t really go into detail about why he picked me, he just sort of asked me if I’d like to do it and I said it’d be a massive honour,” Wilson said.
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“It was a pretty crazy little period there, and he just gave me very simple directions. He just said, ‘don’t change anything, just try and lead every training session by actions and try to do the same thing on the weekend’.
“I just like competing. I just wanted to compete every game and play. Different coaches see different aspects in people’s game which I appreciated, and I guess Joe and the coaching staff might have appreciated a few of my attributes.
“It’s obviously been a pretty crazy year, it was a year I loved and enjoyed so much – it was a bit of a roller-coaster.”
Following back-to-back seasons in which he finished as Super Rugby’s most prolific ball carrier, Wilson sought to add other dimensions to his game with the Reds.
And Les Kiss’ first season at the helm proved his awakening.
Encouraged to trust his instincts and skills, Wilson forged a lethal back-row partnership with Fraser McReight, regularly seen assisting each other en route to the tryline.
Wilson’s offloading game looms as a crucial weapon in Queensland’s hopes of ending a Super Rugby title drought among Australia clubs spanning 11 years.
“Les gives a little bit more freedom than we’ve had here in the past, and really lets us back our skills. [McReight and I] have played together now for nearly 10 years from junior footy, so we know each other’s game back to front,” Wilson said.
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“I know he’s always looking for the ball, so if I can try to find ways to get it to him, he makes me look a little bit better than I probably am.
“The style Les plays with I think gives us a lot more one-on-one opportunities than we might have had in the past.”
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