Bull Shark Jack Winchester celebrated graduation and then immediately had a homecoming to look forward to after being selected in the Australian Barbarians side to take on Japan in April.
For Winchester it will be a return to his grassroots when his plays his final game of professional rugby in the same town where he first laced-up the boots as a kid, Coffs Harbour.
The 24-year-old Bachelor of Laws graduate will now focus on making his mark as a lawyer and the Barbarians game on April 15 will be his last in topflight rugby.
It is a nice place to finish for a kid who grew up in a rugby-mad family.
“Dad’s always been massively into rugby, he played for Wellington U18s and for the police academy,” said Winchester.
“My mum’s side is also into rugby, so it runs in the family.”
In his final year of high school at Bishop Druitt College in Coffs Harbour, Winchester was selected for the NSW schoolboys and Australian schoolboys where his performances led to being awarded the John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship at Bond University.
He sported the blue and gold for two seasons with the Bull Sharks before securing a two-year contract with the Western Force for the 2021 and 2022 Super Rugby seasons.
“When I was offered the contract, I just thought, ‘What a good opportunity, I may as well get some Super Rugby experience’,” said Winchester.
“I had three days to pack up my life and move over to Perth.
“I loved it, playing with the Force was such a great experience.”
Under head coach Tim Sampson, Winchester made nine appearances for the Force.
“I was only 20 when I moved over, so I had to grow pretty quickly at the Force,” he said.
“I was playing rugby with guys who had been playing for decades, some ex-All Blacks and ex-Wallabies players.”
When 2023 rolled around, Winchester decided to move back to the Gold Coast to finish his degree and play rugby for Bond.
The Bull Sharks went on to win the minor premiership that season.
“I came back to Bond with some great experience under my belt, the 2023 season was definitely one of the best seasons of rugby I’ve played,” he said.
The 2024 season saw Winchester nominated as Best Forward of the Year.
“Working under Mick Heenan was different, he really challenged us to become better rugby players. I loved training under him, and I really respect him as a coach,” he said.
With a handful of rugby accolades and a degree under his belt, Winchester will now move back to Perth where he has secured a graduate role at Steedman Stagg Lawyers.
“I decided when I finished up at Bond that I would move back to WA. I really fell in love with Perth when I lived over there,” he said.