Cantabrian Charlie Gamble will face his old friends at the Crusaders this weekend. Photo / Getty
Cantabrian Charlie Gamble will face his old friends at the Crusaders this weekend. Photo / Getty
Charlie Gamble can afford a chuckle about the prospect of facing the Crusaders for the Waratahs in Super Rugby on Saturday night.
After all, it could have easily been the other way round.
The 26-year-old Cantabrian has carved out a unique career path. A schoolboy rugby star at St Bede'sCollege, the bruising loose forward went on to captain the Canterbury Under-19 team in 2015 where he was named the most valuable player at the Jock Hobbs Memorial tournament.
Higher honours beckoned. Another one off the factory line. But it wasn't to be.
"One of my biggest goals growing up was to make NZ 20s. That didn't end up happening for whatever the reasons were. That was a bit of a downer for me," Gamble said.
"After that I had a few pretty bad injuries back to back and that set me back a couple of years. I was a bit down on my footy, and I got to a point where I needed to try something different and change my scenery up."
Calling it a gamble wouldn't be accurate given there was little to nothing for Gamble to lose.
He and his girlfriend settled on Sydney as their new destination in 2018, and haven't looked back since.
"I needed to get out of my comfort zone. Sydney came up and I was like why not, have a year off enjoying life, have a look around," Gamble said. "I had a year playing in the suburban club competition which isn't the greatest footy but I just went into it to enjoy rugby and have a bit of fun."
Charlie Gamble in action for the Waratahs. Photo / Getty
That led to an opportunity to play Shute Shield for Eastern Suburbs – similar to New Zealand's NPC – before the Waratahs came knocking in 2019 with a contract for the 2020 season.
Gamble had to bide his time before debuting against the Brumbies last year. But he's since gone on to start every game for New South Wales in Super Rugby Pacific, initially as injury cover at openside flanker for Michael Hooper, now alongside the Wallabies captain on the other side of the scrum.
It sets up a tantalising match-up against old friends, now opponents. Gamble insists there's no bitterness.
"The younger me would probably say I want to prove a point," Gamble laughs.
"But I'm just grateful to be in the position I am. Three or four years ago did I think I'd ever come up against the Crusaders starting on the blindside? I'd probably say no. So for me it's just to go out there, enjoy myself, play the way I know I can and try and put my team in the best position to get a win."
It shapes as a big couple of weeks for Gamble.
All going well his parents will finally get to see him play at this level after more than a year apart due to Covid when the Waratahs face Moana Pasifika in Auckland next weekend.
And such is his form, visits across the Tasman could continue as part of Dave Rennie's Australian squad.
"When I came over here I didn't think I'd play Super Rugby let alone the Wallabies," Gamble said.
"I know I'm eligible early April next year [to represent Australia]. If it comes along I definitely wouldn't say no, everyone wants to play the highest possible level of rugby or sport they can. To play for Australia would be an honour, but it's a long way to go and I've got to play a lot better to get there."
