{"id":926649,"date":"2026-10-13T13:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T13:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926649\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T13:10:15","slug":"rugby-world-cup-news-2026-jacob-preston-debut-for-kangaroos-against-kiwis-new-zealand-feature-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926649\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby World Cup News 2026: Jacob Preston debut for Kangaroos against Kiwis New Zealand, feature, reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacob Preston is set to make his long-awaited Kangaroos<\/a> debut against New Zealand this Thursday, having earned his time after watching from the sidelines during the team\u2019s 2025 Ashes Test series in England.<\/p>\n

But now the 25-year-old is ready to make his mark on the World Cup<\/a> stage at home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jacob Preston will debut for the Kangaroos on Thursday. \u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of on-field action and game time last year, Preston credits the tour as one of the best experiences for building his confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tour last year was unreal, I learned so much from all the players and just getting to rub shoulders with them, training with them,\u201d he admitted to 9News Sydney.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I didn\u2019t get a game, but it was honestly one of the best experiences I\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps your confidence definitely.\u201d <\/p>\n

In another major squad shake-up for Thursday\u2019s clash<\/a>, Reece Walsh<\/a> has leapfrogged Clive Churchill medallist James Tedesco<\/a> for the coveted fullback spot.<\/p>\n

For Preston, earning a green and gold jersey before making his State of Origin <\/a>debut is an unconventional way to achieve his rugby league<\/a> dreams, but it is a testament to his undeniable talent.<\/p>\n

Representing the future of Australian rugby league, Preston has been a star for the Bulldogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He stood out during what was a challenging season for the club<\/a>, making 20 appearances and crossing for seven tries.<\/p>\n

Bulldogs manager Phil Gould<\/a> was the ultimate mastermind behind securing Preston at Canterbury until the end of 2031, a show of faith the young forward does not take lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely. I appreciate what Gus has done for me. He gave me my opportunity originally,\u201d Preston continued. <\/p>\n

He will start on Thursday night alongside Penrith Panthers<\/a> enforcer Liam Martin, edging out fellow back-rower David Fifita and spoiling his potential debut. <\/p>\n

Now, the childhood fan who \u201cwas obsessed with the NRL\u201d, gets to live out his ultimate goal, and next is to add an Origin jersey alongside the Kangaroos. <\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I always loved the NRL. As a kid I was obsessed with it, to be honest,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully one day we can tick that box off (Origin) as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Cup clash against the Kiwis is his golden opportunity to cement a spot in the Australian pack for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacob Preston is set to make his long-awaited Kangaroos debut against New Zealand this Thursday, having earned his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-926649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}