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You can imagine all the sports science and hi-tech equipment used to prepare a finely-tuned athlete. Suitcases full of GPS monitors, lactate tests, altitude tents, virtual reality simulators, a vast array of gym equipment \u2026 you name it, a sports team has used it.<\/p>\n
And, of course, there\u2019s the pool noodle. Yes, the same humble pool noodle you probably have wedged into your shed; a long, thin styrofoam toy used by kids when swimming and, every now and then, to help train Test rugby wingers to fly through the air and successfully catch a towering kick.<\/p>\n
Max Jorgensen\u2019s spectacular try last week against the Lions at Suncorp Stadium? Shoutout to the $2 pool noodle.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it\u2019s something you have to practice a lot, but I think there\u2019s a lot more technique than people think,\u201d Jorgensen says about the art of winning an aerial contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just jumping up for it and catching a ball. It\u2019s a lot of reps in training, and pretty much doing it every day.<\/p>\n
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Max Jorgensen flies through the air in an aerial contest in Brisbane.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there are techniques we will use to train. Sometimes they get out the pool noodles, and as you go up to catch you get hit in the face, hit on the arms and on the body, to try and distract you and train you to stay focused on the ball. And you get a lot of pad work as well, trying to stay big into the contact, and win that space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat aerial contest, obviously it\u2019s massive in rugby now. With that new rule, where you\u2019re not allowed to obstruct chasers to protect the catcher, ultimately, it\u2019s a 50-50. You don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to come down with the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 29th minute at Suncorp Stadium, and with the Lions leading 10-0 and getting on top, Jorgensen stayed big in the contact and scored a memorable try to rally the Australian cause.<\/p>\n
With the Wallabies, like most other Test teams, employing a contestable kick strategy, Jorgensen chased a Jake Gordon box kick and the youngster leapt into the night sky to compete with Lions fullback Hugo Keenan.<\/p>\n
The pair both latched onto the ball, but Jorgensen ripped the ball away from Keenan upon landing, and raced 25 metres upfield to score in the corner made famous by Israel Folau in the 2013 Lions series.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big one for me is just looking at the ball all the time, and you have just got to be confident into the space and get your timing right,\u201d Jorgensen said. \u201cAnd the other guys are coming on to it, so also getting ready for that contact, because you\u2019re hitting each other pretty hard in the air. It\u2019s just being courageous, I guess, into that contact.<\/p>\n
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Max Jorgensen of the Wallabies runs with the ball, with Hugo Keenan on the ground.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bit of a weird one [with Keenan]. We both caught it at the same time but then he hit the ground and I ripped it off him, and I think the difference was, if you look at it, me staying on my feet helped massively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Continuing a trend he began at Twickenham last year<\/a>, Jorgensen then set sail for the line and scored a nerveless try on a massive global stage, against some of the world\u2019s best players.<\/p>\n Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt marvelled after the game that it\u2019s easy to forget Jorgensen is still only 20 years old, such is his capacity to not only handle the pressure of Test rugby, but thrive in it.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes even I forget, it [leaving school] was only three years ago,\u201d Jorgensen said. \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s been way longer, to be honest. It feels like it\u2019s more been five years. But yeah, sometimes I look back and you go, \u2018It\u2019s a bit crazy where I\u2019m at now\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we ran out and the stadium was all dark and the flashlights were on, and how loud it was, that\u2019s really when it hit me. I was like, yeah, this is something special.\u201d<\/p>\n Max Jorgensen scores the match-winner at Twickenham.Credit: Stan Sport<\/p>\n There are many remarkable parts to Jorgensen\u2019s swift rise, which began in 2022 when he was the subject of a recruitment war between league and union<\/a> while still at school, and ultimately saw him sign \u2013 and later extend<\/a> \u2013 with RA and the Waratahs.<\/p>\n Jorgensen was playing for NSW in 2023, and was a bolter in the Rugby World Cup squad at the end of the year. He made his Test debut last year against the Springboks in Perth, and played in all four Tests on the Wallabies\u2019 Spring Tour.<\/p>\n He was a starter for Schmidt against Fiji earlier this month, and then for the Lions Test series.<\/p>\n At each step, Jorgensen has not just looked right at home, he\u2019s put his feet on the couch. He has almost effortlessly elevated his game to suit the occasion.<\/p>\n But what\u2019s perhaps most remarkable \u2013 and easily forgotten \u2013 is that Jorgensen has done it all while battling consistent bad luck with injury. In three Super Rugby seasons, Jorgensen is yet to finish one.<\/p>\n Max Jorgensen photographed after extending with RA and the Waratahs through to 2026.Credit: Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/37cea0a964fdb499d7a8476d6cf4623757c67156.gif\")
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