Infotainment Factory: Legend's teenage son set for shock Reds debut

Opportunity abounds for Tate McDermott in 2023.

Not only does the sparky halfback have a Super Rugby Pacific title to win, but the race to wear the Wallabies No.9 at the Rugby World Cup has been blown wide open by the dramatic arrival of Eddie Jones.

The Reds co-captain spoke to Wide World of Sports ahead of Queensland's season opener against the Hurricanes in Townsville on Saturday.

Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, kicking off on January 24 on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand

McDermott is expected to partner the uncapped Tom Lynagh in the halves, with Nine's Michael Atkinson reporting that veteran five-eighth James O'Connor has been unable to prove his fitness in time.

Lynagh, 19, is the son of Wallabies legend Michael Lynagh.

WWOS: What can you tell me about young Tom Lynagh? He looks like a chip off the old block - nice and composed for a young man...

McDermott: Yeah, Tommy's got massive, massive potential. He's already got a world class kicking game. Not only out of hand but also kicking at goal which is really handy. And a player that can kick for touch so accurately as well is a game changer.

Tommy's growth has been phenomenal. He's a quieter guy, very young coming from boarding school in England, straight into the Reds. So you can imagine the transition, it was obviously pretty tough for him and very different to what he's used to.

But his performance against the Tahs (in a trial) sums up what he's all about. He's tough.

He's not the biggest guy but he put his body on the line, communicated very well and he steered the ship around. He's obviously got big shoes to fill in James O'Connor there.

Looking forward to seeing that battle with Lawson Creighton as well. But yeah, Tommy is a special player and he'll keep getting better. Good for the club. He's got everything to be a world class player and we've just got to keep giving him confidence and belief.

WWOS: The new law variations in Super Rugby have been received positively by the public. But what's been the reaction among the playing group and how will it change the way the Reds play?

McDermott: I think it plays right into our hands. We're a team that likes chaos, and we like fatigue in the game. So you look at our forward pack, we're not the biggest, but we're bloody skillful. And we work hard and if you're changing the rules to create fatigue in the game, it's a win, particularly for a player like myself.

I love to talk and run and when you see the bigger forwards that are tiring then that's when you come to life. So I'm very happy with the new laws.

Obviously we've known for a little bit they're going to take place and in all our pre-season, even prior to Christmas, the games in Japan, the challenger series we had with the club rugby sides in Brisbane, we were incorporating some sort of law variation to speed the game up.

The scrum clock will be interesting.

But from a spectator point of view it's something we've been calling on for a while.

NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney and Morgan Turinui preview the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season with the coaches and captains from the five Australian teams

WWOS: What about as a halfback, having to now stand behind the 'tunnel' of the scrum defensively?

McDermott: That changes the whole way you defend from scrums. But obviously the running game is a strength for me and I'm getting that with the big gap.

And big Harry Wilson running off the back as well, it's exciting. It's going to be good to watch.

Zane Nonggorr of the Reds takes on the defence during the round one Super Rugby Pacific match between the Queensland Reds and the Melbourne Rebels

WWOS: What about some other youngsters for the punters to look out for?

McDermott: Josh Flook is a really classy centre already and young Floyd Aubrey is another exciting talent in the backs.

But (prop) Zane Nonggorr is working really, really hard on his craft, particularly around scrummaging and carrying. Nella (Taniela Tupou) is a big loss but Zane is also a tremendous ball carrier. I've been really happy to see his growth this year.

He's deadly when you give him any sort of space and definitely one to watch.

Tate McDermott of Australia at the end of the match.

WWOS: How are you viewing your Wallabies prospects after a change of coach? Dave Rennie rated you but he seemed to have reservations about your passing and kicking game that blocked you from regular starts...

McDermott: Yeah, I think it's a clean slate, not only for myself but for everyone. No-one's safe. I haven't spoken to Eddie but there is optimism for the boys that didn't get much of an opportunity with Rens. But my mentality is the same as it was with Dave.

I've got to give everything in that Reds jersey, driving that attitude for the whole squad as a leader as well. We've got to do the job for Queensland before we start thinking about a World Cup.

Tate McDermott of the Queensland Reds poses with defence coach Phil Blake.

WWOS: What is Phil Blake bringing to the table as defence coach?

McDermott: Just an awesome person to have on the team. Very good communicator and someone that just loves rugby. He's obviously got respect as a player that has been there and done that. He brings that strategy as a league player but knows how to hit and he knows how to simplify defence for us, which is exactly what we needed. He's just come in and taken the program to a whole new level.

He's got everyone on the same page, very simple and focused and I guess when we've looked at our personnel, that's exactly what fits the mould for them. You'll see us defend a little bit differently. Because if we're to go deep in this competition we need to make sure that is consistent week in and week out.

Tate McDermott of the Reds is tackled in a match against the Hurricanes at AAMI Park.

WWOS: And what about round one against the Hurricanes? Taking them up to hot and steamy Townsville is probably not a bad idea this time of year.

McDermott: Yeah, we've had two weeks of real heat and the whole pre-season is Brisbane is pretty warm. It's going to be humid, very, very humid. The ball will be greasy.

Our defence has got to be right on and our kicking strategy has got to be bang on. We've been creating plenty of our opportunities in our trials but not always finishing. So we've got to make sure we rectify that because the Hurricanes won't give you much.

A massive challenge but it also does give us the upper leg with the heat. We'll come ready to play.

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