Heaven mastered the language to such an extent he enrolled in a business degree in Lyon with classmates that included French Olympians. He was also on course to qualify as a JIFF, the French acronym that describes the regulation of home-grown players appearing in French club squads.
Each team in France needs to field an average of 16 JIFF players, meaning if you qualify, you have increased your earning potential significantly across the top two fully professional French leagues. Heaven had spent three years in an approved French training centre, but was ultimately undone by bureaucracy.
“It was a really disappointing end to my time in Lyon in terms of qualifying for my JIFF,” Heaven says. “My understanding was that I was going to qualify because I did three years in the Centre de Formation, which is the training centre [in Lyon].
“Essentially for qualification you have to do three years in the training centre before the age of, I think 23 or 22, except when we got to the end of my time at Lyon, and it wasn’t looking like I was going to get re-signed, they determined that the first year that I signed the contract, I wasn’t valid.
“They didn’t have me on the right contract to qualify, so I don’t know who’s at fault there, but it was disappointing. I had an offer at Stade Français that fell through because I wasn’t qualified, and so that’s the reason I decided to come back to Australia.”
Julian Heaven scores against the Crusaders at Allianz StadiumCredit: Getty
That was two years ago and Heaven returned to play for Easts’ second-grade side, with whom he went on to win the grand final against Sydney University. As a child, Heaven once used a Waratahs flag as a pillow liner and dreamed of representing his home team.
After starring for Easts’ first grade last year in the Shute Shield, an Achilles injury to Wallaby David Porecki got him into the Waratahs squad this year and he made his long-awaited debut in round two in a win against the Crusaders in Melbourne.
“In terms of the day, it was an absolute dream come true; it’s something I’ve been working towards my whole life and I’ve been a supporter of the Waratahs since I was six,” Heaven says.
“A few months before that I was in France watching the World Cup and then I was playing with some of those players I was watching.
“It’s definitely something I’ve worked hard for and I’ve always kind of set high personal standards. I will continue to work on my game.”
Heaven remains on an injury cover contract at the Waratahs after Porecki and Mahe Vailanu went down. Heaven has credited Porecki for sharing knowledge that has considerably improved his work at set pieces, including lineouts and scrums.
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After arguably becoming the Waratahs’ find of the season, the hooker is keen to extend his stay with his boyhood club and will keep grasping the opportunities as they come.
“I’m just fully committed to making a career as a professional rugby player in Australia and if that doesn’t work out for me, then so be it,” Heaven said. “I’ll keep tapping away but if that doesn’t work again, then I think I’ll have to look at other opportunities but yeah, for me, the optimal goal would be playing at the highest level in Australia.”
