‘It was a big call’: Junior Wallabies star opens on decision to leave, hints about Aussie return

Isaac Lucas says he hasn’t “lost the desire” of one day earning a Wallabies jersey, with the 23-year-old strongly considering a return to Australian rugby ahead of the 2025 British and Irish Lions series.

The youngest of four brothers, each of whom played professional rugby, the Junior Wallabies star shocked the Australian rugby public and the Queensland Reds when he upped and left during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At 21, his decision to leave the Reds rocked one of the traditional heartlands of Australian rugby.

Once Japanese rugby was a region players would got to to cash-in at the end, but Lucas, along with rising star Harry Hockings, changed that perception almost overnight as they left for The Land of the Rising Sun in the infancy of their professional careers.

To some, their decisions were seen as financially motivated – an abandonment of the pathways and the system that had helped their progression to the professional game.

For Lucas, however, by moving to Ricoh Black Rams in Tokyo he could play with his brother while furthering his development at an ambitious Japanese side.

“Obviously coming over here – elephant in the room – it was a big call, but I’m still young,” Lucas told The Roar.

“I was 21 when I made the decision to come here.

“The big thing for me though was, yeah there’s been a lot said about Japanese rugby and that it was a place for older players to come and see out their careers, but I haven’t really seen that to be fair.

“Whether that’s got to do with the coaching group or the Japanese boys here, and now the competition, there’s some bloody good players starting to perform, and it’s been an environment where I genuinely feel that I’m getting better as a rugby player.

“Coming over here, my brother Matt was playing at and he let me know a lot about the club and what its plans are and the type of coaches and players coming in. Being able to hear that definitely made the decision a lot easier.”

Lucas’ departure was a bitter pill to swallow for Australian rugby.

With brilliant feet, a turn of pace and ball-playing ability, Lucas is Australia’s version of All Blacks star Damian McKenzie and is equally adept at fullback and fly-half.

But being the youngest of four, he’s harder than his blonde hair and slight stature shows.

A package of Mark Nawaqanitawase from Rugby Australia on the eve of the electric winger’s Wallabies debut in November was more a highlights reel of Lucas, as it showed the fullback carving up the under-20s World Cup.

Mark Nawaqanitawase was a star for the Junior Wallabies in 2019 ????

Who’s keen to see him make his @wallabies debut this weekend?

???? #ITAvAUS
Sun 13 Nov 12am AEDT
???? Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
???? @StanSportAU#Wallabies #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/ggPsat4SmY

— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) November 11, 2022

Since leaving the Reds in 2020, many of his Junior Wallabies teammates including Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Angus Bell, Nick Frost, Lachlan Lonergan, Ben Donaldson and Nawaqanitawase have debuted for the senior side.

Rather than being bitter about watching his friends graduate into the Wallabies side, Lucas says he’s “excited” to see them continue to develop and more than happy with his own decision.

“Coming through with all these players, who are now even establishing themselves as Test players now, it’s exciting,” he said.

“I’m genuinely excited and happy for all of them because they deserve it and they’re playing good footy.

“It is a tough one because on the one hand you get a sense that, ‘Jeez that would be bloody good,’ but I’ve made the decision to come over here and I’m fully committed to that. I’m just ripping in and giving it my all.”

Lucas believes plying his trade in Japan has made him a better player.

Despite living 20 minutes away from the beating heart of Tokyo, Shibuya, Lucas says that without the distractions of friends and family, he has been able to focus on his craft.

“I do find over here you’ve got a lot more time to do the small things and the extras that come with rugby,” he said.

“I’m not saying that you don’t do it back home, but you’ve obviously got your family and friends back home and you get caught, whereas over here you can sort of pick your times. I feel you’ve got more time under your belt.”

Without the financial riches and history of Suntory or Panasonic, Lucas is one of Ricoh’s biggest commodities.

It means he carries a weight of expectation, with only four foreigners on the field allowed at any one time and just three internationally capped players.

But it is something the young playmaker is enjoying.

“There’s a cap on the number of foreigners you can have in the team, so with that there comes an expectation of not only performance but what you do around the group,” he said.

“It is something that I enjoy, the expectation and the pressure. You’re over here for a reason not only to perform but to have a positive impact on the people around you and make your teammates better, especially at our club.

“Probably in the years gone past in Japan, some of the foreigners come over here and look to collect a pay cheque, but at our club, we’re not only wanting to perform but to have a positive impact on the Japanese players as well.”

Lucas is sharpening his craft under former Brumbies assistant and Waratahs star fullback Peter Hewat.

More recently, former Wallabies and Scotland assistant Matt Taylor has joined Ricoh.

He says the speed of the game has meant he has played more at fly-half than fullback.

“With the linespeed over here at 15, some games you might not get your hands on the ball much because of that linespeed, so I found [playing] 10 over here you had a bit more bearing on the game and you could really assert yourself and control it from that aspect,” he said.

“It’s a fast game over here. The breakdown isn’t as physical and they’re a lot quicker, which allows for some pretty fast footy and I obviously have a strength in that area of the game.”

Along with Hockings, Rugby Australia is watching Lucas’ next move very closely.

Both players are on the governing body’s radar, with the star duo off contact following next season.

Already a number of Australian franchises have reached out to the duo, with Lucas attracting attention from the Western Force.

While Lucas stressed that he was eager to continue to add to Ricoh’s program, he revealed that playing for the Wallabies remained a strong goal.

“I definitely haven’t lost that desire,” he said.

“I know it was a big call when I did make the decision to come over here, but at no time did I ever think I would be done there.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time over here and I do still think I’m developing, I’m getting better over here. With the coaches over here and the playing group, it’s still an environment where I can get better.

“I definitely haven’t lost that aspiration of a gold jersey. I know I’ve taken a different path by coming over here.

“In short, I still have been keeping in touch with what’s going on back home and speaking to players and coaches.

“I’ve been keeping a pulse but, at the same time, I’m not thinking too far ahead. I’ve got this season at the forefront of my mind.

Nor does Lucas believe he should be parachuted into any representative sides, particularly with a Lions series on the horizon.

Honest and committed, he wants to prove he belongs.

“There’s a lot of factors. I’ve got to get back and play some good rugby for whatever side I could end up,” he said.

“I still remember the Lions series when all the Australian Super Rugby sides … even seeing that Luke Morahan try pop up [on social media]. It was such a big year.

“Without getting too far ahead of it, because there’s obviously so many moving parts with it all, it’s a big couple of years coming up in that space.”

Talk of Lucas wanting to return to Australian rugby can only bode well.

For years Australian rugby has heard of stories about players leaving for overseas opportunities and financial gain, but now the ledger is starting to turn. That can only be a good thing.