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Miles Amatosero’s parents thought their burgeoning boy was going to Europe for three weeks of trials at Clermont and Saracens. The giant teenager ended up signing a three-year deal.
Only the onset of COVID-19 saw Amatosero return early, allowing the teenager to take back with him more than a single suitcase and give his parents the chance to properly bid him au revoir, before returning in mid-2020 to chase his rugby dream.
After rising through Clermont’s academy rapidly, Amatosero turned down advances to stay in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to chase a dream of becoming a Wallaby by signing with the Waratahs for the 2024 season.
“There’s just lots of little things that really mean a lot to me, and I don’t want to let them just slip away,” Amatosero told The Roar in an exclusive interview.
“Firstly, being so far away from my family. The reason I went over there was not to be away from my family. Especially at a young age, it was really hard to be away from them. But, essentially, my sister’s had two kids now, I haven’t really been around too much of that, my brother turned 18 while I was over there.
“And then, of course, I can’t play for the Wallabies while I’m over there. That’s my goal, and that can’t happen while I’m over there. I’ve got to come back home at some point because I won’t wear another jersey.”
Miles Amatosero says a desire to play for the Wallabies was the catalyst behind his return to Australia. Photo: Twitter
Amatosero’s comments will be music to the ears of Rugby Australia officials, who continually must weigh up the balance between opening the country’s borders for national representation and ensuring their competitiveness on the national stage.
His pending return – after a five-month joker contract with Clermont until the end of the Rugby World Cup – is also a relief for RA.
Indeed, Amatosero could easily have stayed put and become the next French-in-waiting lock like former Warringah Rats second-rower Emmanuel Meafou, who turned down Eddie Jones’ approach to return home.
After all, it was Clermont who gave Amatesero a contract and, importantly, time to develop after signing a three-year ‘espoir’ (academy deal).
“The sort of projection was that I’d be training and playing for the academy for that first year, second year hopefully get a few training sessions in with the pros and then third year, maybe get one or two games. But in my first season I was playing with the pros,” Amatosero said.
“They definitely have the capabilities where if they see someone having a bright future in three or four years, they’ll just hold on to a player and develop him because financially they can.
“That’s not so much the case here.”
At 21, Amatosero is a developing giant in the game.
Known as “mini Will Skelton” during his teenage years, the lock is 203cm tall and weighs between 122 and 125kgs.
Miles Amatosero (L) says he’s returning to Australian rugby so he can play for the Wallabies. Photo: Instagram
It’s suffice to say the Waratahs will be getting some heavy cargo back when he returns to Sydney later this year.
But the player who left Waverley College as a 17-year-old is years further down the track than he most probably would have been had he stayed in Australia.
The lock made his debut against Ma’a Nonu’s Toulon and after rubbing shoulders during his one-week trial with Skelton at Saracens has since played the recalled Wallabies lock when lining up against La Rochelle.
“If you told me before when I was 17 that I was going be going to be living in France for nearly four years and have all these games under my belt by the age of 21, I just wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.
Miles Amatosero in action for Clermont. Photo: Twitter
In many ways, he’s done what most do at the back of their careers at the start.
“I think it really helped me mature and see the bigger picture by taking a step back and getting away from everything,” he said.
“If you only live in one place for your whole life, you get a bit of tunnel vision thinking this is all that there is, but going away was a massive eye-opener for me; rugby is not just here, rugby is all over the world.
“From the beginning, I was doing French classes three times a week, four times a week, just to pick it up. And then once I sort of got the hang of it, I found just speaking to other people, instead of doing the classes, really accelerates your French. Learning it by the book is great, but nothing will accelerate your skills by speaking with your mates.”
Amatosero has also experienced playing in the big-time leagues.
While Australia’s Super Rugby franchises have struggled to fill out their big stadiums, the rising lock has faced the pressure from Clermont’s ‘yellow army’.
“The yellow army’s about including everyone, so it’s like the fans and the team. The team is not just the yellow army. It’s like the entire people, the stadium, the town and, at the games, it’s incredible. The fans, they love it,” he said.
“But you’ve got to win the home games; you don’t win the home games, it’s not good,” he added.
The question is, why give it up at such a young age, particularly when the Euro makes any return all the more difficult?
“They can just match the contract and it just works like that,” he said.
“But again, it’s like how much do you want to sacrifice: is that little bit of extra money worth being away from everything?
“It’s not even just for the family, Australia’s everything for me. Is it worth being away from everything for a few extra coins in your pocket?”
He added: “Playing for Australia is all I want. You see it on the TV, you see these guys and I’ve always said, ‘Man, I wish one day I could be a Wallaby.’ But being overseas, I can’t even be qualified for the Wallabies because of the rules and regulations.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.