Transplanted Tyzac revelling life in ‘land of the giants’ at Souths

By MARK CASHMAN

Southern Districts scrum half Tyzac Jordan is loving life in his very own “land of the giants” at Forshaw Rugby Park this season.

Jordan headed south to the Rebels from Randwick after Round Two of the Shute Shield this year, hopeful of more time in a first grade side.

The 22-year-old had been a Coogee Oval boy through and through, living at Charring Cross, turning out for the Clovelly Crocodiles, doing his schooling at Waverley College (where he was selected in the Australian Barbarians schools side in 2016) and just being very much a man of the east.

But the path to a regular first grade spot at the Galloping Greens was blocked by Mitch Short and Jordan felt the time was right for a change.

“I thought about going to Souths last season and I had in mind that they had a good pack,” Jordan told Rugby News.

“The opportunity there came up at the start of the season and to be honest it has been a great fit.

“It’s just unreal playing behind such a good pack and they are all good blokes as well.

“Everyone at Souths has been quite accepting of me right from the start which I was a bit worried about coming from another club.

“To be honest I thought it might take a while to break into the swing of things but it’s been really good right from the get go.

“I did my time at Randwick playing behind Mitch (Short) who’s been a great halfback at the club for many years and it just got to the point where I thought I needed to go elsewhere to get an opportunity.”

His teammates at Forshaw have enthusiastically embraced his bubbly and often defiant demeanour.

So much so that they have nicknamed him ‘Hasbula’, a reference to the MMA social media sensation who often challenges the likes of Conor McGregor to fights via his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Jordan has that edge to his game and is certainly not one to back away from a challenge so when Rugby News asked him if there was some “little man syndrome” about his on field attitude he just laughed.

“You wouldn’t be the first to say that, but I guess so, I guess so,” Jordan said.

“That edge to my game has always been there and it probably comes from being the smallest man on the field all the time.

“I always say that if you don’t want to be a pushover you’ve got to stand up to people and in some ways I have always got confidence from being the smallest guy on the field.

“It doesn’t matter if they are massive or just a little bit bigger than you you’ve got to fly in and have a crack.”

Souths coach Todd Louden admires the winning attitude that the No.9 has brought to the club.

“Tyzac is a great guy and a very good player. He is a winner, no matter what he does he wants to win and his value on and off the field for us is immense,” Louden offered.

Jordan added: “I love the way that Todd not only approaches the game but how he treats his players.

“For him it’s not only about being good footy player , it’s about being a better person and that has really connected with me.

“I just feel that I have got a lot to learn from Todd. People want to play for him and as long as he’s at Souths the program is going to get better and better.”

Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown has been tough for Jordan, not being able to train with his teammates and living some distance from the shire but the common goal is to finish the season off with style.

“This year has been frustrating in a positive way if that makes sense,” Jordan added.

“The games against Gordon and Randwick spring to mind in telling the story of our season because in both of those game we led for 78 minutes. Norths was another one.

“Winning those big moments in those sort of games is how you win comps and we have to learn from that.”

When the competition gets up and running again, Sydney Uni is the focus and Jordan will be a driving force in winning some of those big moments.

From little things . . .

IMAGE: MALCOLM CHUCK / SOUTHERN DISTRICTS

 

 



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