William "Will" Skelton (born 3 May 1992) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

rugby union player, who plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition. Skelton was born in New Zealand, and he is of Samoan descent; he moved to Australia as a child and qualified for Australia through residency. He won 19 caps for Australia since 2014 and played at the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was on ...

Family and early life

Skelton was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

, New Zealand, and moved with his family to Sydney at the age of 10. He is the older brother of

Cameron Skelton Cameron Skelton (born 8 March 1995 in Auckland, New Zealand), is a professional rugby union player who plays for Counties Manukau. He is the brother of Australian international second-row Will Skelton and represented the Samoa national under- ...

and is a cousin of former New Zealand lock

Brad Mika Bradley Moni Mika (born 2 June 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player. His position is lock. He was educated at St Peter's College. He made his provincial debut for Auckland in 2000, his Super Rugby debut for Crusaders in 2002, and his inter ...

. Though smaller than his younger brother, Skelton weighed 150 kg while still a teenager and he wears size 18 to 19 (UK) boots. He played junior rugby league for the

Wentworthville Magpies The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as ''Wenty'', are a rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963 (or 1937), the club has competed in various Sydney district competitions a ...

before taking up rugby union at age 15 at

The Hills Sports High School Hills Sports High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary day school, with speciality in sports, located on Best Road, Seven Hills, in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ...

in Seven Hills. Skelton joined the Sydney University rugby club in 2010. In 2011, he was invited into the Waratahs Academy and the ARU's National Academy in Sydney. After a promising first year, a fractured foot sustained in February 2012 prevented him from playing for the remainder of the year.

Rugby career

Waratahs

In March 2013, Skelton was signed to the Waratahs' Extended Player Squad by coach Michael Cheika. He made his Super Rugby debut against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that al ...

, and was selected to play for the Waratahs against the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their nationa ...

in June of that year. Will Skelton playing for Sydney Stars NRC Round 5 (2)

In 2014, Skelton was approached by

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

to join the Blues in Auckland, but turned him down. He was named in the Australia squad for the June tests in 2014. Skelton made his test debut for Australia against France on 21 June 2014, starting as the right lock and scoring the first try for the Wallabies in their 39–13 win. His

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