Queensland. When it comes to sport, its steadfast one day, zealous the next. But there’s no Queenslander much more unwavering than the Reds’ own, Jake Schatz.
He’s a Red through and through, born in Springwood Queensland, educated at St John Paul College in Brisbane and Queensland’s rugby nursery, “Churchie”, the Anglican Church Grammar School.
He was a member of the Australian Schoolboys in 2007, earning three Test caps for the side and winning the Macquarie Bank Sports Foundation Award for the Players’ Player (in an Australia versus Pacific Island Team) that year.
He burst onto Queensland’s rugby scene in 2008, when he was named as the Queensland Colts player of the year, captaining Sunnybank to the Queensland Premier Colts Premiership.
That same year he was included in a Queensland Reds development squad for a tour of Ireland and France.
Soon after in 2010, Jake was making his Super Rugby debut for the Reds, as an Academy squad member. He starred for the side nine times that year in what was a highly successful opening season for Jake who, at 20 years of age, was awarded the Queensland Reds Rookie of the Year.
It was an industrious period for the stocky loose forward who also led the Australian Under 20s at the Junior World Championships in Argentina in June that year.
It was more than enough to earn him an upgraded contract with the Reds and, after attending the RUPA Induction Camp in late 2010, he was ready for his first year as a fulltime member of professional rugby in 2011.
Jake notched a further seven caps in Queensland’s Super Rugby Championship winning year before again being handed the reins for a Queensland representative XV side against Canada.
His Wallabies debut last September against Argentina was long overdue. After all, he had been called upon to represent Australia since 2012, biding his time in the squad as his teammates ran out for the once in 12 year British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia in 2013. Unfortunately an injury cloud rained on his parade on both occasions.
With personal hardships both on and off the field, there’s a lot to be admired about Jake’s emotional strength and discreet determination.
2013 really was his year, when, at the age of 23 he surpassed 50 caps for Queensland, after starting in every single minute of the Reds’ Super Rugby season, including the unique chance to face the Lions. It was a year he not only crossed for his debut Super Rugby five-pointer, but ended up scoring four tries during the tournament.
There was no doubt he was a well-deserved winner of the Stan Pilecki Medal as Queensland's player of the year in 2013.
Continuing to stick to his roots, Jake overcame injury once more in 2014 to again feature in every game for the Reds, backing up his season with a series of impressive performances yet again as a home-grown representative of inaugural Buildcorp NRC Championship winners, Brisbane City.
Jake finally made it out onto the pitch for game time in the Gold jersey against Argentina during the 2014 Rugby Championship, etching his name as Wallaby number 884.
Continuing to develop on and off the field, Jake also graduated with a Diploma of Business in 2014, organised through RUPA’s Player Development Program.
Riding the rugby rollercoaster as a committed and integral member of the Queensland Reds, Jake has once again returned to the fold after a ruptured tendon in his elbow ruled him out for a month earlier this year.
If there’s any person who has the both the experience and dogged commitment to earn his way once again from Red to Gold, its Jake Schatz.
