Counts among the world's best

Harry Potter celebrates his debut for the national team

Rugby instead of Quidditch: Harry Potter plays for Australia.(Bild: instagram.com/harrypotts___)

Harry Potter now answers questions about his famous namesake with humor. "It's a good challenge for journalists to see if they can come up with a unique or original Harry Potter pun," he said recently. Because Harry Potter knows them all by now. Harry Potter, of course, refers to the 27-year-old English-born professional rugby player who made his debut for the Australian national team at the end of November.

The talented athlete was born in Wimbledon in December 1997, six months before the publication of J.K. Rowling's first book about the now world-famous wizard. In his youth, Potter grew up in Bristol, just like Rowling. He played for the Wallabies for the first time a month ago, scoring a try in a 13-27 defeat. Fittingly, the test match took place in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, where Rowling wrote most of the books in her seven-part novel series.

Nickname is "wizard"
 Harry Potter moved to Australia as a ten-year-old, first living in Melbourne and later studying at the University of Sydney. Name jokes are part of everyday life for Potter. "I wouldn't say I'm sick of them," he once emphasized in an interview with his current club Western Force. "I've heard quite a few and I don't mind it. I find it quite funny most of the time too, though a bit more original content would be nice. But I don't see that happening any time soon."

Harry Potter certainly feels Australian, at least his accent is more Australian than English, according to his own statement. In his sport, the winger, who became English champion with the Leicester Tigers in the 2021/22 season, is one of the world's best. After missing out on the preliminary round of the 2023 World Cup, Potter was the 18th debutant for the Australians this year. Potter has already been given a fitting nickname by his teammates: "Wizard."