Australia U20s flyhalf Finn Mackay is riding the high of his debut Super Rugby season as the Queenslander looks to deliver success in the gold jersey.
Mackay and the Aussies have settled into Georgia ahead of Sunday's (AEST) Junior World Championship opener against Spain after a 25-hour trip to reach their base in Kutaisi.
Watch every second of the Junior World Championship live and on demand via Stan Sport.
The playmaker is coming off a remarkable 12-month period that started with a clean sweep of New Zealand Secondary Schools in October, and now finds himself with a Reds debut and his first professional contract.
Mackay became a part of a special group of players to have three straight wins over their Kiwi counterparts at the U18s level, a feat which had not been achieved by an Australian team in over 30 years.
This caught the eye of Reds coach Les Kiss, who extended a pre-season invite that culminated in a sudden Reds debut against the Saitama Wild Knights a few weeks later.
“It was pretty surreal. We’d just come off the 18s against New Zealand and I was expecting to go in for a few weeks over off-season and then the Reds wanted me to stay and maybe get an opportunity to play Wild Knights," he told Rugby.com.au.
“I didn’t think it would happen that quickly to get that Queensland debut, I didn’t even think about it, but to get the opportunity to play with guys like Jeff Toomaga-Allen and other experienced Reds capped guys, it was another step up but a great learning curve.”
The Souths product found himself thrust onto the big stage in 2026, with injuries to Tom Lynagh, Carter Gordon and Ben Volavola leading to a Super Rugby Pacific debut against the NSW Waratahs to start the season.
“It was just in one meeting and Carter was like ‘‘I think you’re on here’ and I had no idea what he meant, I didn’t even think about and then I was on the bench and my heart dropped," Mackay said and smiled.
“It was funny I was named in a Next Gen team with the 20s and [Les] Kissy came in during the captain’s run and said Finn’s not playing tomorrow, he’ll be with us next weekend so I had all the team around me.
“It was my first time playing in front of a big crowd in a stadium and I was a bit nervous for that first kickoff but it’s so quick so you’ve got to be switched on every minute of the game.
“Even if it was for 15 minutes, I was getting a bit tired but it’s definitely something I want to experience more next year and push myself a bit.”
The meteoric rise of Mackay has led to pressure and expectation to start following the young ten, hailed as a 'rare talent' by former Wallabies playmaker Berrick Barnes after his Reds debut.
It's a reality the flyhalf knows comes with the number of the back.
"I think the main thing is just to be myself and have fun. My dad always says if you're not having fun, why are you doing it? " he explained.
“I think for me when I go into a game, if I'm at my best, I'm having fun, I'm enjoying myself and just clear-minded. I think the pressure's always going to be there but it's how you deal with it and if you're having fun, maybe the pressure's not as bad.
“I try to push myself to that gold jersey, whether it's 20s or Australia or one of these. It's just a privilege, to be honest.”
It's why having four other flyhalves with international experience at the Reds is perfect prep for Mackay in his view, heading into this tournament, picking their brains.
"I try to learn a thing or two off them about what their strengths are and try to bring that to my game but I think a big thing is in the meetings. They're really smart in how they speak, their detail of previewing other teams and looking at other teams so that was a big thing for me, just soaking in that information," he added.
“They’ve all been really good for me and it’s been a good couple of months of pre-season heading into this.”
