Nearly 30 years since Michael Lynagh last wore Wallabies gold, one of rugby’s most famous surnames is on the cusp of representing Australia again.
Tom Lynagh, now 21, left his family and life in England three years ago to embark on a journey that follows in the prodigious footsteps of his father.
Michael – a Rugby World Cup winner in 1991 – remains Australia’s all time leading points scorer in Tests with 911 from 72 appearances.
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And after two seasons of Super Rugby Pacific with Queensland, Tom is in the Wallabies squad preparing for Saturday’s Test against Wales in Sydney.
New Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has been effusive in his praise of the blond No.10 who is competing with Noah Lolesio and Ben Donaldson for a start.
Lynagh spoke to Wide World of Sports about his journey and the pressures of being the son of rugby royalty.
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WWOS: You have just completed your first week of Wallabies camp. What are your initial impressions of life under Joe Schmidt?
Lynagh: It has been great under Joe so far. The vibe in camp’s been really good. All the boys are connecting really well with each other.
It’s been good to meet some of the boys from the other clubs for the first time and have chats with them and get to know them.
So it’s been a good first few days but still plenty of work to do. We have a lot to achieve over the next few weeks.
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WWOS: You are competing with Noah and Ben but also trying to make each other better. How are you working together as three young No.10s?
Lynagh: I am only just getting to know Noah and Ben properly. I only met them when we played against them so just little chats after the games.
So it’s been good to get to know them. They’re great blokes to spend time with and learn off them too.
They’ve got plenty to offer and I will take advantage of it.
WWOS: What do you admire most about their games?
Lynagh: Noah is very good at taking the ball to the line. So I’ll look to see what I can take from that, see what he’s looking at in the defensive line particularly, or what are his triggers?
Donno’s got a good kicking game and is a good manager. So I’ve been studying both of them, trying to learn from them.
It’s a good competition between us and it drives us to get better.
WWOS: Is Joe coaching the backs on his own?
Lynagh: Yeah, Joe and Eoin Toolan (head of analysis and skills coach).
They’re both taking us and teaching us what they want to install.
It has been a good few sessions with them so far. There’s been a lot that’s been jammed in a few days but I guess you have to do that when you’ve only got six days until the Test match. It’s been really good, I have enjoyed it.
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WWOS: You are not the biggest team in world rugby and Joe has talked about the desire to play with ‘tempo.’ Skills and accuracy are the priority then?
Lynagh: Exactly – move the ball around the park and try and use our fitness to our advantage against some other teams.
Playing at a high tempo is definitely a big part that we’re trying to focus on.
We are all very keen to try and play like that on Saturday.
WWOS: How did you assess your own form for the Reds this season?
Lynagh: I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve gone. Obviously there’s some areas of the game where I’d like to improve or I wasn’t too happy with but the boys around me this year were unbelievable.
Hunter (Paisami) and (Josh) Flook in the centres, Tate (McDermott) at nine and then the whole forward pack were just great all year, going forward a lot of the time and making my job really easy. There’s 13 of us (Reds) in the 38 man squad.
So I’ve just been doing my job really.
WWOS: You’ve got family on the other side of the world. Will they be able to get over here if you do make your Test debut this month?
Lynagh: We’ll see – my older brother (Louis) is over in New Zealand at the moment with Italy.
So he’s got his own game to worry about but we’ll see what happens with Mum and Dad (in England).
I’m not sure when the team is going to be named but it might be pretty tight. We will see – it would be nice.
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WWOS: You and Josh Nasser share a pretty cool connection don’t you? (Wallabies hooker’s father Brendan is a former teammate of Michael).
Lynagh: Yeah, it’s really cool. Josh is one of the first people I met coming to Australia. He’s been great to be around and we’re on this journey together.
It’s great to share the experience with him in our first Wallabies camp and obviously there’s that family history there too.
We are just soaking it all up. Really cool.
WWOS: Your older brother Louis has made a flying start to his own international career with Italy. What has he passed on about the experience?
Lynagh: I haven’t really talked to him much about it, to be honest. He gets pretty into it and pretty involved. But he’s enjoyed it.
He likes being around the camp. He said all the boys over there were great, very welcoming to start with and their coach (Gonzalo Quesada) is doing great things. So he’s enjoyed his first experience of it.
Obviously they’ve done pretty well in the two games that he’s played (beating Scotland and Wales). He’s pretty excited by all that.
WWOS: There were very real conversations about you playing for Italy as well? (Tom and Louis were born in Italy and mother Isabella is Italian).
Lynagh: Yeah, well, look, I’m over here and it’s sort of a logical decision, I guess.
I’m fortunate to be able to get the opportunity to be in this Wallabies squad so I’m happy where I am right now and am trying to make the most of it.
We are happy forging our own paths.
WWOS: I’ve heard your dad use the swan analogy of appearing calm above water but frantically paddling underneath. He seems to have passed that demeanour on to you?
Lynagh: Yeah, a lot of people do say that.
I mean, it’s one of the things I’ve just learned over the years. I was always pretty calm and relaxed at school. I’m pretty quiet off the field too, so I guess that comes across on the field as well.
I feel like my job is to be the calm head on the field and make the decisions. So I think it’s better if I stay that way. I’m happy with how it’s going.
WWOS: You had two pressure kicks against the Waratahs recently (missed one then kicked the game winner). Surely the adrenaline was pumping then?
Lynagh: Yeah, look, there’s obviously nerves at that point.
But you’ve just got to stay as calm as possible and you’ve got your kicking processes that you go through. If you’ve got 1000 thoughts going through your brain when you’re lining up those kicks then you’re not in a good spot.
So you’ve got processes where you clear your mind and get in the right zone for it to stay cool.
WWOS: Joe has referenced your bravery in defence as a major asset and how you played on after that monster shot against the Chiefs. What is your approach to bringing down the big units?
Lynagh: Just be confident and get in the way, you know. If you’re in front of them they’ll be slowed down somewhere.
I was a bit of a speed bump this year but, no, I’ve been working hard with the coaches back at the Reds. They are really confident in trusting me in those spots and I feel pretty confident defending and making those tackles.
It’s just part of the job as well. You can’t shy away from that stuff – as much as some people want to – we picked rugby for a reason. It’s a contact sport.
WWOS: Joe is also excited about the distance you are able to achieve with your kicking game – both out of hand and from the tee – despite not being a big bloke. What is your secret there?
Lynagh: I just grew up kicking a ball, whether it was a soccer ball or rugby ball. So I’ve just got that sort of natural rhythm and timing, you know, if you’ve been kicking the ball for 16, 17 years now.
I always wanted to be a kicker like Dad when I was younger. From the age of nine I used to watch guys like Owen Farrell and George Ford kick a ball and try to replicate that and spend hours in the garden trying to do it.
So it’s hours of hard work and it’s all timing and rhythm. A good kicker will never try to overhit the ball and that is my philosophy.
WWOS: How tough has Kurtley Beale’s injury been for the squad?
Lynagh: Yeah, really tough. I talked to KB quite a bit last week and he was helping me a lot on the field.
It was the first time I had met him and he has got so much to offer. He’s helped me a lot mate, just in the four days that we were with each other.
Obviously I feel really bad for him. A tough, tough position he’s in now but I wish him all the best in his recovery and hope he gets back on the field.