UK Edition
Matt Toomua: 'I love the footy here, love the set-up, love the English boys in the Tigers’ back-line'
There ought to be good reason for Leicester and Wallaby centre, Matt Toomua, not to be cheerful: his club, Leicester Tigers, are in the throes of their worst run in over 50 years with six defeats on the bounce while wife, Ellyse Perry, Australia’s finest female cricketer (213no v England) and international footballer to boot, is 10,000 miles away lighting up the Women’s Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers.
Yet even on a dank day at Tigers’ training ground in Oadby, Toomua’s appreciation of his lot is unmistakable. This is where he wants to be, relishing the prospect of doing his bit in the Leicester midfield on Saturday afternoon by trying to arrest that slump with victory over London Irish at Welford Road.
There are more lifestyle reasons for Toomua’s contentment, and not just updates from one of his mates, Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Starc. Closer to home is the anecdotal recall of shaking his short-term lodger, recently-arrived Australia hooker, Tatafu Polota-Nau, from his slumbers to rush out into the snow.
“We were like a couple of kids, out there Face-Timing our families with the snow all around,” said Toomua, who spent Christmas Day apart from his wife but in the company of his visiting brother and niece. “You do Christmas way better over here. It’s cool. The separation from Ellyse is tough at this time of year but we are both doing things that we love and if we didn’t take advantage of that now, then we’d have regrets later.”
There has been only one cause of grievance for Toomua since signing for Leicester in 2016 – the blight of injury. The 28-year-old, a shrewd, intelligent playmaker for the Brumbies and the Wallabies for whom he won 33 caps, was almost sent off in his first game for Leicester as well as concussed before rupturing his cruciate against Racing 92 a couple of weeks later. His first season saw him gain more plaudits as an ad hoc barista at the training ground than the on-field smart operator he undoubtedly is.
No matter Leicester’s current parlous state, ninth in the Premiership and bringing up the rear in Pool 4 of their Champions’ Cup group, Toomua, with 11 appearances this season, is in his element, to the extent that he has recently signed an extension to his Leicester contract that takes him up to 2020.
“Mixed emotions in a way, knowing that we need to be doing better but a big tick alongside the fact that I’m finally getting game time,” said Toomua.
“We’ve not managed this period too well but we can rectify that. We’re very aware of what is at stake. It’s up to me and the others to find a positive way forward. There’s bags of character here. It’s in the bones of the club. You can’t fake what they have done. I like the idea of commitment, of one-club men. Professionalism has changed that but, even so, I want to make an impact here, help win titles, and that’s one reason I’ve re-signed.
"Of course, money was a factor in coming up to Europe in the first place but there’s far more to life experiences than that. The declining pound would have sent me home if not. I love the footy here, love the set-up, love the English boys in the Tigers’ back-line.”
Toomua may admit to being the last out of his tracksuit at training when the thermometer heads down towards freezing but he even embraces the reality of an English winter with stoic cheer. He does return home to Australia a couple of times a year and has also taken the opportunity to travel in Europe, expressing his delight at visiting the likes of Game of Thrones Dubrovnik as well as Berlin over the past 12 months, that last destination triggering a fascination with Second World War documentaries.
But rugby is at the heart of his life and, in that regard, Toomua’s perspective on English rugby is illuminating.
“The set-up here is phenomenal, the resources, the depth of talent, all quite scary if you are an Aussie,” he said. “It has taken me by surprise really. People criticise the system, the length of season but just consider the fact that England have got their best players playing in England. As I know, that’s not the case in Australia, South Africa or New Zealand.
"And that old rebuke of England only being able to play 10-man rugby is rubbish. This is one of the best back lines here at Leicester that I’ve played in anywhere in the world. England Under 20s have proved to be a bit of beast and you can see why England will be punching their weight at the top of the game for a few years.
"There’s a real good balance here. I know the season is divided into chunks, the weather becomes a factor, too, in terms of style, but, look, the travel is minimal by comparison to the southern hemisphere and, commercially, it works. Welford Road will be packed on Saturday and that’s a healthy sign. And I want to be very much part of it for the next few years.”
As he surely will be.