For American rugby player William Rossi, a study abroad semester on the Gold Coast delivered the kind of moment most supporters only dream about - meeting his childhood hero John Eales.
The Cleveland native, who had a photo of Eales lifting the William Webb Ellis Cup as his phone wallpaper during high school, came face-to-face with the Rugby World Cup-winning Wallabies captain at the 2026 Bond University Rugby Club season launch.
He took the opportunity to get some tips ahead of his Queensland Premier Rugby season debut against Souths this weekend.
“It was an amazing experience, being able to shake the hand of the most successful Wallabies captain and personal idol of mine is something I will never forget,” he said.
“The opportunity to hear the perspective of Mark Robinson (World Rugby CEO) and John Eales on the state of Australian and New Zealand rugby definitely stood out to me.”
The third-year international business student from Cleveland, Ohio, has been training twice a week with the Bull Sharks and made a solid start by scoring a try in his first trial game for the third grade side.
A vice-captain at Furman University, Rossi plays wing and flyhalf and was named MVP Backs in his last collegiate season.
At Bond, he has adjusted to a higher intensity, with the side winning both of its trial matches.
“Being able to say I’ve trained and played on the same field as guys like James Slipper is pretty special,” he said.
Rossi is set to line up in round two as his three-month study abroad stint comes to an end.
“Souths is a team that I’ve always wanted to play mainly because one of my favourite players Quade Cooper, suited up for them in 2018 so they were the first team I followed in the QPR,” he said.
“That game will mean a lot to me as it will be my first real game in the competition against a club I have a lot of respect for.”