If French rugby has a playing genius in Antoine Dupont, Australia has a magician. The Australian selection, who faces the Blues this Saturday, November 22 at the Stade France during an autumn tour match, has a certain… Harry Potter.
But this Potter, despite being a perfect homonym of the famous hero imagined by JK Rowling, has no magic wand and doesn’t wear round glasses or a scar on his forehead.
He looks more like Golgoth, he is 1.85 m tall and weighs 95 kg, plays as a winger and definitely has a lot of scars on his body. His nose still bears scars from the defeat against Ireland (46-19) last weekend.
Despite everything, the international Wallabies and the fictional hero don’t just share the same surname. They seem to be connected by a link… “Potts”, as the player is sometimes nicknamed, was born in England – in London – in 1997… That is, in the same year as the publication of the first of the seven books in the saga.
What was merely a small anecdote, a joke, turned less amusing with the success, in bookstores and later in the cinema, of the magician’s adventures. He did not escape the jokes – not always very clever – from his classmates in the school yard.
“I found myself sharing a name with a global story”
“My parents didn’t think it was a problem because it was a common first name,” he explained to L’Équipe newspaper. And at first we thought it would be great to have the same thing as a book. But with cinema, it became something big, and I found myself sharing a name with a global saga! »
His family’s move to Melbourne, Australia, in 2007 for professional reasons changed nothing. “I once thought about changing my first name, that’s true, although that’s never a bad thing,” explains the person in question in this interview. People laughed at him, just like everyone else our age. »
If the famous magician excels at Quidditch (the fictional sport played by JK Rowling’s hero), “Potts” asserts himself and reveals himself on the rugby pitch. He moved to Sydney to take a sports studies course. He is no longer the player of the same name but a promising player.
In 2020, Harry Potter decided to return to play in England, at Leicester Tigers. In 2022 he even managed to win the title of British champion. However, the following year, he chose to be closer to his family and returned to Australia.
A decision that kept him out of Rose selection… but opened the door to Australian selection. Nearly a year ago, on November 24 2024, he was called up for the first time in an Autumn tour match against Scotland. It takes place in… Edinburgh, the city that inspired JK Rowling to write the saga.
This selection once again placed him in the media spotlight. But, this time, he seems at peace with his last name. “My name will always be more famous for books than rugby,” he explained to L’Équipe. I don’t regret anything, and I’m no longer upset about it today, because there’s an element of entertainment back in this story. I don’t blame anyone, and that makes me proud. »
This Saturday against the French XV, the future NSW Waratahs (Australia) player will make his 11th consecutive start with the Wallabies. A consistency that makes him one of the selection performers and should earn him a place among those selected to compete in the next World Cup, in 2027, in his country. A scenario that lacks magic but that Harry Potter owes only to his talent.
