SYDNEY :Max Jorgensen has made a stunning start to his test career on the wing but is confident he could do a job at fullback if required when the Wallabies take on Argentina in the Rugby Championship this weekend.
A season-ending knee injury to Tom Wright during the 30-22 loss to South Africa two weeks ago has opened up the Australia number 15 shirt for the clash with the Pumas in Townsville on Saturday and beyond.
Coach Joe Schmidt also has the option of installing Andrew Kellaway or even Joseph Suaalii in the backfield but Jorgensen, who turned 21 on Tuesday, said it was a role he was more than comfortable filling.
“I’ve played my fair share of fullback … but there’s a lot of boys in the squad who can play fullback,” he told reporters from North Queensland.
“There’s Kells, who played pretty much the whole game against South Africa at fullback, you’ve got a lot of other players like (Harry Potter). So ultimately, it’s up to the coaches and Joe. So we’ll see what happens.”
As a winger, Jorgensen’s reputation has soared this year with some sensational performances against the British & Irish Lions and world champions South Africa.
His second try of the lost series against the Lions helped Australia restore some credibility with a 22-12 win in the third test, while he also crossed in the stunning 38-22 win over the Springboks in Johannesburg as well as the defeat in Cape Town.
“I love playing 15, but I’ve been loving playing on the wing as well,” Jorgensen added.
“I’m happy in either position, as long as I’m playing and in the team and doing my part.”
Jorgensen made his test debut against South Africa in last year’s Rugby Championship and was on the field, albeit ill, when Argentina thrashed the Wallabies 67-27 in Santa Fe later in the tournament.
The Pumas showed their enduring quality by beating the All Blacks for the first time on home soil two weeks ago, but Jorgensen thinks the Wallabies have changed considerably since that nadir.
“I think we’re a very different team now to what we were a year ago, looking back at some of those clips, we sort of talked about, ‘that’s not us and that’s not how we play’,” he said.
“I think the big change for us is that we’re turning more into an 80 minute team. When you look back at some of those games, we were only in it for about 40 minutes and then lost it.
“But we’ve developed so much as a squad and as a team since then, so we’re ready to go this weekend.”
