Wallaby winger Harry Potter acknowledges 'huge boots to fill' after Tom Wright injury
By
SABC Sport
29th August 2025
Australia winger Harry Potter has been called up to the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship squad as cover for the injured Tom Wright.
Wright suffered a serious knee injury in Round 2 of the Rugby Championship against the Springboks in Cape Town and is set to undergo surgery. The flyer has had a stranglehold on the fullback jersey for the last two seasons and his absence will be keenly felt by the men Down Under.
The versatile Potter, who has featured for the Western Force in the No.15 jersey before, admitted that the new back-three will have to step up to fill the void left by the fleet-footed Wright.
"Itâ™s huge boots to fill," the 27-year-old told the Wallabies website.
"I think he's been so good, Super Rugby and then for the few games that he's managed to play this year, it's certainly a big loss for us.
"Playing with him is incredible, some of the stuff he's capable of doing on the field is world-class, and seeing him siding through a defensive line is very impressive.
"But at the same time, I think that the injuries that we have had over the last few weeks, it's been incredible to watch players and the coaches and how well they have gone [playing] in so many different positions,
"We have had injuries, and I think players, particularly in the outside backs, have performed incredibly well.
"Corey [Toole], for example, after Dylan [Pietsch] hurt himself at Ellis Park, was unbelievable at the weekend.
"I think, no doubt those shoes will be filled. But a massive, massive loss, no doubt for us."
The Wallabies face the Los Pumas in back-to-back Test matches in Townsville and Sydney after the next two weeks. Potter is aware of the threat posed by the Los Pumas backline, who are outrageously talented and now buoyed by their historic win over the All Blacks in Buenos Aires.
"From an outside back's perspective they've got some serious threats there on the edges," added the London-born star.
"A reasonably slick backline all together and they've also got some real ability to get ball back in the air ⦠they're quick wingers, they get up in the air and win that aerial battle, [they] did a lot of the time against the All Blacks.
"I think that's going to be a large part of the game, at least for myself as an outside back, something that we're going to have to be conscious of in that space. It's an area of the game that I really enjoy and want to get better at.
"I think the boys are doing a really good job with that at the moment, I think with the law changes over the last year, I think it has changed that area of the game a lot.
"It is incredibly hard to retain ball when it's kicked to you, because wingers are so good at getting in the air and teams aren't able to shut them out."
