Wallabies star reveals Olympics dream after new record contract extension confirmed
Wallabies speedster Max Jorgensen in action in a Test and during a training session (inset).
Wallabies flyer Max Jorgensen is keen to further explore everything the game has to offer, including a potential berth at the Los Angeles Olympics, after signing a new deal with Rugby Australia (RA).
It was confirmed on Friday that Jorgensen has signed a five-year contract with RA, committing him to the 2027 and 2031 Rugby World Cups.
The 21-year-old’s deal ties the record for the longest signed by an Australian rugby player, with only Lote Tuqiri and Michael Hooper previously signing five-year contracts.
“It’s [a] massive weight off the shoulders,” Jorgensen told reporters.
‘It’s good to get it finally done and ready’
“It’s been going on for a little while now, so it’s good to get it finally done and ready before the season starts, so I can just focus on my footy for this year.
“I love the Waratahs and Wallabies and love the footy that we’re playing at the moment, and I couldn’t really see myself anywhere else.”
The deal includes a couple of sabbaticals which will allow him to play club rugby overseas in 2028 and 2030.
Jorgensen, who was born in England, would have a plethora of options worldwide.
Alternatively, the versatile backline star, who has featured on the wing and at full-back for the Wallabies and Waratahs, could switch codes to sevens for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where Australia are chasing their first medal in the men’s competition.
Fellow Wallabies speedsters Mark Nawaqanitawase and Corey Toole made the switch for the 2024 Olympics in Paris and helped Australia to their highest finish of fourth.
Jorgensen is no stranger to the shortened version of the game, as he represented New South Wales in the code in 2021 and is keeping all options open regarding his future.
Olympic Games ‘not off the table’
“100% [Olympics is] not off the table. I have so much respect for those guys and what they do over there in the sevens programme,” he admitted.
“It would be very cool to play in the Olympics so it’s not off the table, but a conversation for another day…I think conversations comes over the next sort of year or so and for a later day, I think. But still working through all that and we’ll see where it takes me.”
Jorgensen was also linked with a move to the NRL, which would see him follow in the footsteps of his father Peter, who represented the Wallabies in two Tests before switching codes to play for the Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers.
“I never really explored it,” he said on those rumours.
“I knew I always wanted to stay with the ‘Tahs and the Wallabies, so we never really went down that path, which most people knew about, and I always wanted to stay in this club.”
After missing out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France due to injury, Jorgensen is hungry to experience action at the global showpiece.
“2023 was a tough year, not only for myself, but for the Wallabies as a whole,” he explained.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play in a World Cup, and especially a home World Cup. It doesn’t come around too often, so to be able to hopefully get the chance to play in one of them would be very special.”
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