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He had a breakthrough year in 2016, and now Dane Haylett-Petty has his sights set on the 2019 World Cup, having announced an extension to his current contract with the Western Force and ARU.
The two-year extension will keep Haylett-Petty with the Force and Wallabies until the end of 2019, priming him for a place in Australia’s squad for that year’s World Cup in Japan.
“I’m very excited to be staying home and playing for the Force, obviously the draw card of trying to get back into that Wallabies team was a large part of my decision,” Haylett-Petty said.
The 27-year-old established himself as a Wallabies regular in 2016. After a strong individual Super Rugby campaign for the Force at fullback, Haylett-Petty started in all 14 of his Wallabies appearances, spending the majority of his time on the field on the wing, and went on to be named the Wallabies rookie of the year at the John Eales Medal awards night.
“I really enjoyed last year, the challenges week in and week out, watching my game grow and the Force were a big part of that and I feel like we’re really heading in the right direction and we have a great group of young men with a bright future,” Haylett-Petty said.
“Pulling on that gold jersey was a goal I’ve had my whole career. I’m looking forward to the season ahead and hopeful of representing Australia again.”
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika lauded Haylett-Petty’s re-signing.
“Dane’s performances in 2016 spoke for themselves and our desire for him to stay and play in Australia show how much we value him as a player,” Cheika said.
“We know that his best is yet to come and we will be working hard with Dane in 2017 to ensure that he achieves the goals he’s set out for the next few years.”
South African-born Haylett-Petty has enjoyed a wide and varied rugby career to date, having played in both Europe and Japan after his Super Rugby debut back in 2008. He also represented Australia’s men’s sevens team in 2008 before making his return to Super Rugby and the Force in 2014.