 Debreczeni in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Jack Debreczeni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 6 June 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb; 225 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Trinity Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jack Debreczeni (born 6 June 1993) is an Australian professional rugby union player who currently plays as a fly-half for the Waratahs in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. [3]
Jack Debreczeni was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1993. [4] [5] Before he was two-years-old, [4] his family moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia before he began to play rugby union at three-years-old. [6] Debreczeni is of Chilean and Hungarian descent through his paternal side of the family; [4] [7] and Cook Islands descent through his maternal side. [5]
Debreczeni was educated at Trinity Grammar School, where he played rugby alongside his junior rugby club, the West Harbour Pirates, in Sydney. In 2013, Debreczeni was approached by the Australian rules football club Essendon of the Australian Football League (AFL). [8] Debreczeni stated that although he was flattered by the interest, he wasn't leaving rugby: "It was not real serious. Rugby's always been a passion of mine. It was just something that came along. I had no real interest in the AFL thing." It was also reported that Debreczeni had attracted interest from various rugby league clubs from the National Rugby League (NRL). [9]
Debreczeni initially made a name for himself playing for West Harbour in the 2013 Shute Shield in New South Wales. Just one season at that level was enough to convince the Rebels of his worth and he was handed a place in the franchise's extended playing squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season. [10] Injury blighted the first half of his season, however he regained full fitness in May and was an unused replacement for the Rebels victory over the Reds on 17 May. [11] He made his Super Rugby debut the following week as a 74th-minute substitute for Jason Woodward in a 19–41 defeat to the Waratahs in Melbourne, and was rumoured for his international debut. [12] [13]
After his debut season in 2014, Debreczeni started and played fifteen of the sixteen regular season games in 2015 for the Rebels scoring two tries and making a total of thirty six points in his breakout season and helped the team finish tenth overall. In 2016, Debreczeni played a big part in the Rebels twelfth-placed finished after the signing of Reece Hodge in August 2015. [14] After only playing fourteen games during 2016, Debreczeni scored a total of 120 points finishing equal tenth overall with fellow Australian Bernard Foley. [15]
In 2018, Debreczeni returned to the Rebels after a small stint in Japan, scoring his first try in round two of the 2018 season scoring a total of twenty points against Australian conference rival the Reds. It included two tries and five conversions, helping the team to score its most points in an individual game winning 45–19 at AAMI Park, Melbourne. [16] [17] [18] [19]
Debreczini signed with the Chiefs as back-up to Damian McKenzie [20] for the 2019 Super Rugby season. He made seven appearances for the team. [21]
Debreczini signed with the Brumbies for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season [22] as back up to Wallabies fly half Noah Lolesio. He made his first start in the first round against the Waratahs. Strong performances for the Brumbies meant he played more minutes, culminating in his selection to start in the semi-final against the Chiefs. [23] He resigned with the Brumbies for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season. [24]
In early September 2025, the New South Wales Waratahs announced they had signed Debreczeni ahead of the 2026 season. [25] Coach Dan McKellar stated upon the announcement, "Jack is an experienced player who adds real quality and strength and depth in a very important position," adding: "Off the back of years of experience, Jack is very calm, he has a very good skill set; and he has an ability to manage a game, as shown by how he performed for the First Nations Pasifika team." [25]
Debreczeni was an Australia Schoolboys representative in 2011. [26]
Debreczeni was the traditional uncapped player in the Barbarians F.C. line up against Argentina on 1 December 2018. The international match was played at Twickenham Stadium, England.[ citation needed ]
| Season [21] | Team | Matches | Starts | Minutes | Tries | Cons | Pens | Points | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Rebels | 6 | 3 | 228 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Rebels | 15 | 15 | 1088 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | Rebels | 14 | 14 | 1084 | 2 | 25 | 20 | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Rebels | 8 | 7 | 523 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Rebels | 14 | 11 | 851 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 76 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 282 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Brumbies | 16 | 6 | 485 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 1 | 0 |
| Grand Total | 80 | 61 | 4541 | 11 | 68 | 43 | 320 | 2 | 0 | |
