Reds coach Brad Thorn has paid Queensland fullback Jock Campbell the ultimate compliment, comparing his movement to that of rugby league great Darren Lockyer.
Campbell scored a try and was one of the Reds’ best performers in Queensland’s 23-5 Super Rugby Pacific weekend win over the Melbourne Rebels at Suncorp Stadium.
Despite the wet and heavy conditions, Campbell often proved elusive when running with the ball.
Parts of his display reminded Thorn of Lockyer, a former Broncos, Queensland and Kangaroos teammate of the Reds coach.
“He moves so nicely,” Thorn said of Campbell.
“He’s got this movement, Lockyer-style – it’s almost like a step.
“He’s dangerous with the ball, he’s got speed, especially across a short distance.
“Jock’s a banker – you feel good when he’s on the park.”
Thorn also compared 26-year-old Campbell, a relative late bloomer who played third XV rugby at school, to his former All Blacks teammate Ben Smith.
“It took (Smith) a while to come through,” Thorn said.
“If you see him on the street, you don’t say ‘that looks like a Super Rugby player’.
“He played club footy, he played for Otago, and got little goes, and then by the end of his career he was one of the best fullbacks in the world.
“Seeing those sorts of guys come through that way is pretty cool. They earn everything they get.
“They don’t have bling … but they always seem to make the right decisions.
“For Jock, he’s doing a great job for our team … he could comfortably go up another level.
“Whether he goes further (by playing for the Wallabies) I’m not sure, but I really like having him involved with us.”
While Campbell and man-of-the-match Harry Wilson had games to remember for Queensland against the Rebels, the Reds will need to make an overall improvement when they meet NSW at Leichhardt Oval on Friday night.
The Waratahs opened their Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a 40-10 win over Fijian Drua, and also beat the Reds in a pre-season trial in Roma.
Reds co-captain Tate McDermott said: “It’s always a massive game whenever we play NSW.
“They’ve got a decent attack but we’ve got to make sure that we put them under pressure on the defence side.
“They think they’re rebuilding and good on them, but it’s going to be a big game next weekend for us.”
