Dane Stafford Haylett-Petty

Dane Haylett-Petty was a beautifully balanced outside back who possessed the uncanny ability to beat the first defender by changing the tempo of his running stride.

South African-born and Perth-educated, Haylett Petty enjoyed the global opportunities offered by rugby before he returned to Australia and won international honours. The Cottesloe product made his Super Rugby debut for the Western Force in 2008 before stints in the Australian 7s side, the Top 14 in France, and Japan. He said three years abroad “helped me round out my game. I learned a lot playing over here [France]. It's definitely made me a better footballer for it.”

Haylett-Petty found his way back to Perth in 2014 and was a standout performer for the Force franchise the following year. He enjoyed a breakout Super Rugby season in 2016 and was rewarded with a Wallaby debut against England in Brisbane. From that maiden Test, Haylett-Petty was capped in 31 of the Wallabies 42 internationals through to the end of the 2018 season however nine of the eleven he missed were solely due to surgery, and then rehabilitation, from a torn biceps in 2017.

He played at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan before an innocuous collision with Jordie Barrett in the third 2020 Bledisloe test ultimately forced him to retire after a year long battle with concussion. “I got the head knock and got blurry vision and sort of struggled through the game with blurry vision,” Haylett-Petty said. While he played club rugby for GPS the following year, Haylett-Petty was unable to transition back to Super Rugby level given the ongoing effects of the head knock on his health. It was at that point he decided to “hang up the boots”. "It's not the way I wanted to finish. I would have loved to run out just one more time, but it wasn't to be. Rugby has given me so much and for that, I am forever grateful.”

Rebels boss Baden Stephenson paid tribute to Haylett-Petty: “It was a real shame for Dane and the club that our captain wasn’t able to contribute on the field this season. Dane’s long term health was always our biggest priority. Dane departs highly respected by his peers and everyone in the Victorian rugby community.”

Highlights

2007

Represented Australia ‘A’ Schools (now known as the Australian Schools Barbarians) and the Australian Men’s Sevens team. 

2008

Selected in the Australian squad for the inaugural IRB U20s World Championships in Wales.

2008/09

Represented Australia in the IRB Sevens World Series. 

2009

Selected in the Australian U20s squad for the second-annual IRB Junior World Championship tournament in Japan.

2016

Haylett-Petty won his first Test cap when chosen in the run-on XV at right wing in the 29-38, 1st Test loss to England in Brisbane. He finished his rookie season with 14 caps from a possible 15 internationals. 

2017

He earned four caps in the opening five Tests of the year before a torn biceps and subsequent surgery prematurely ended his season. 

2018 

Haylett-Petty was one of only three Wallabies (Bernard Foley and Izack Rodda) to play all 13 Wallaby Tests. Seven of his 13 caps were won as the starting fullback. 

2019

He picked up six caps, four of which came at the Rugby World Cup including starts against Wales and Ururguay. 

2020

Haylett-Petty played a single test, against the All Blacks in Sydney, and then missed the rest of the season due to the ongoing effects of concussion.