James McCormack set for Brumbies starting role

From Crookwell to Cape Town

James McCormack became the oldest Brumbies debutante since 1996 when he replaced injured hooker David Palavi in the 58th minute of Friday night’s epic six-point win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

Now with Palavi’s season over and Jeremy Paul on the injured list, the former Crookwell Captain/Coach will be handed the CA Brumbies Number 2 jersey for this Friday night’s Tooheys New Super 14 Week Three clash with the Stormers at Newlands.

A veteran of seven seasons on the Sydney Club Rugby scene, 29 year-old McCormack went into “semi-retirement” in 2004 when he returned to work on his sheep and cattle farm in his home town of Crookwell, where he spent the year as player/coach for the local team.

He couldn’t have foreseen the position he would be in sixteen months later.

McCormack, who was placed on an Academy contract with the Brumbies this season, was called into the 26-man squad for the tour of South Africa after Jeremy Paul was injured in the season opener against the Western Force in Perth.

“I didn’t watch the Force game, but I was sitting on the farm when Laurie called to say that ‘JP’ was injured and that I was in the squad for the tour of South Africa,” he recounts.

Having anticipated playing a total of around twenty minutes of football on his first international tour, McCormack has now emerged as the team’s first choice hooker.

Palavi’s season came to an end when he ruptured his ACL ligament on his left knee early in the second half of last Friday night’s match, while Jeremy Paul will remain on the sidelines for up to eight weeks with a torn calf muscle.

“It still feels like a dream,” said McCormack after this morning’s weights session in Cape Town.

“I was just ecstatic to be able to come on a tour like this and to have the opportunity to experience Super 14 rugby, which I thought had passed me by at twenty-nine years of age,” he said.

Born and raised in Crookwell, McCormack was signed by Manly in 1997 and spent five seasons with the Marlins before joining Southern Districts in 2002.

He spent two years in the southern shire before returning to the farm in 2004, but re-joined for Souths for the 2005 Tooheys New Cup.

“I was still enjoying my rugby and missed playing competitively, so I decided to go back to Souths. I was traveling down (to Sydney) on a Thursday afternoon for training and I’d drive back to Crookwell after the game on Saturday.”

Despite his lack of experience at the professional level, McCormack showed no signs of nerves in his 30-minute cameo in front of a near-capacity crowd at the hostile Loftus ground on Friday night.

“I wasn’t nervous at all leading up to the game, but when I arrived at Loftus and saw what an awesome place it is, that’s when the butterflies started to hit,” he said.

“I was pretty nervous sitting on the sidelines I must admit, but once I got on the field the instincts took over and I really enjoyed it. It was an amazing atmosphere.”

With his debut behind him, the man known as ‘Diesel’ will come across his second milestone in as many weeks when he assumes the starting role this weekend.

“It’s a much bigger challenge for me this Friday night. I’ve got to come up with a fifty or sixty-minute performance, but I feel like I’m definitely up to it and I’m really looking forward to it.”

McCormack’s place on the reserves bench will be taken by eighteen-year-old rookie Saia Faingaa, who joined the team in Cape Town yesterday.

Brumbies Head Coach Laurie Fisher is expected to announce his team for the Newlands clash on Wednesday.

Fact File

James McCormack
Position: Hooker
Height: 182cm
Weight: 111 kg
Age: 29
DOB: 7/4/1976
Club: Manly 1997-2001, Southern Districts 2002-2003, 2005
Super 14 debut: 2006 v Bulls, Pretoria