Martha Harvey makes Super Rugby debut with Waratahs

It has been a long time coming, but Martha Harvey is officially a Super Rugby player after making her debut in a crucial victory on Friday night.

The 20-year-old was named on the bench for NSW Waratahs’ women’s side last week and was in line for a potential Super Rugby debut, which she made on Friday night when she was substituted in late at Canberra’s GIO Stadium.

She may have only been given two minutes on the field, but that was all she needed to make her mark as she threw a bullet pass out of the ruck to Maya Stewart, putting the winger over to score a try that made the final score 36-23 against the Brumbies.

The win saw the Waratahs finish the regular season on top of the table as they earned the right to host a semi-final clash against fourth-placed Western Force on Sunday afternoon at Leichhardt Oval.

Harvey has been named on the bench again for that match and could potentially run on for her first finals minutes as a Super Rugby player.

The Narrabri girl was a star of the future as she progressed through the junior grades and she then took the Central North women’s competition by storm in 2022 when she helped the Blue Boars reach the grand final at Gunnedah. She was later named as a Waratah and debuted in front of a loud and proud home crowd during the 2023 Santos Festival of Rugby at Dangar Park as NSW claimed the inaugural Santos Super W Cup.

Her Waratahs journey has been a long and tough one since then, with injuries and missing out on selection denying her from debuting in a Super Rugby match.

She even considered throwing in the towel at stages, but on Friday her resilience and work ethic paid off.

“It’s been a long journey,” she said.

“I’ve loved every minute of it, but there’s been a lot of highs and a lot of lows along the way.

“I joined in 2023 but I knew I wasn’t ever really a shot that first year, then last year was my first proper year as a contracted player but I unfortunately missed out on playing besides trial games.

“I had lots of injuries. Nothing major just lots of niggles, and it felt like it was a continuous cycle.

“This year, I was a bit unsure if I wanted to have another crack, but I came back into the squad and did the whole pre-season.

“I’ve had a few niggles with my quad and my shins, and we went to New Zealand for a pre-season camp and that was rough because I got dropped for a trial game there and was ruled out for three weeks after it with my shins.

“I was not really expecting to get a shot, but the opportunity arose last week and it was a bit of a shock. It kind of come out of nowhere and I wasn’t really expecting it.

“It was a long time coming but it was very exciting.

“I was warming that bench hard during the game and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get on. Then they tried to get me on in the 75th minute but the play just wouldn’t stop. By the time it stopped, it was the 78th minute.

“I was a bit nervy when I went on but after my second pass, our 10 Bella (Arabella McKenzie) kicked up-field and we all chased, and as I chased I looked up and saw all the lights and everything and I thought to myself ‘oh this is really cool’.

“I ended up getting a try assist, so that was really good”

Harvey will line up for her third season for Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Club this year when the Super Rugby season is finished.

Their first game is Saturday, April 12, but Harvey is hopeful that she will be required for a Super Rugby grand final at North Sydney Oval that day instead, and will then link up with Easts a week later.