The Wallabies might finally have settled on their long-term fly-half in Noah Lolesio, but former fullback turned coach Chris Latham believes Australian rugby missed an almighty trick by failing to nurture Mack Mason.
“Oh mate, I love him,” said Latham, who just left Seattle Seawolves to take on the Chicago Hounds head coach role in the Major League Rugby competition.
“Honestly, if he was given an opportunity to stay in Australia, he would easily be the best ten in the world.
“He has the unique ability to take the ball to the line and know how much pace to go at, when he needs to, and how much time he needs to do to get everyone to stick, he just has that knack and that ability to be an exceptional number ten.”
It’s an almighty endorsement from the former Wallabies fullback, who spent years playing alongside one of Australia’s greatest playmakers Stephen Larkham.
“It’s a big call,” said Latham, who was the Seawolves’ attack coach in 2024. “But I know the Hurricanes were chasing him hard for 2025. You don’t get chased by a New Zealand club for a ten if you’re not half-decent.
“I love the kid, I’d love him to be in Chicago. I just think he’s phenomenal. He’s definitely not the best ten in the world at the moment, but I truly believe he could have been given some time to develop and in the right program, where he was allowed to develop.”
Mack Mason had a debut to remember against the Crusaders on April 2, 2017 in Sydney. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Mason, 28, appreciated the endorsement but wasn’t about to jump up and down about either.
“That’s one man’s opinion,” he shot back. “That’s a big thing to take on from a man like ‘Latho’.”
It’s unlikely Australian rugby will ever see Mason play Down Under again, though. He might not lace the boots up again either.
It’s just gone 5pm and Mason is a world away from where he carved up the MLR competition in the seaside city of Seattle.
Mason, whose partner is pregnant with their first child, is about as far away as remotely possible from the MLR competition around ten hours west of Brisbane, where he is helping run the family’s 185,000-acre cattle farm.
Battling to find workers, Mason, having spent the previous eight months leading the Seattle Seawolves to the MLR final, is back working the farm.
It’s a long way from Seattle, where lakes and mountains surround the city.
“To be honest, no one that I know does it [farming] as extreme as I do from the people I’ve met anyway over my time playing rugby,” Mason said.
“It is a very big change, but I loved my time in Seattle. It’s a good city, but I think the best thing about Seattle is everything around it with all the hikes and the lakes. If you talk to anyone about Seattle, you’ll always hear about the lakes, the hiking and the music.”
With a little around the corner, Mason doesn’t think he’ll return to Seattle for next year’s MLR season.
He breathed a sigh of relief to know that Seawolves coach Allen Clarke, who played for Ireland and has spent time shadowing Joe Schmidt, has signed former Brumbies back Rod Iona as a replacement.
So what about closer to home?
“I don’t really know,” he said. “I think my days are done in Australia because I can’t do the ten months that they do over here anymore. I have too much happening on the farm and on the property to be able to do that.”
He’s sure of one thing, though.
“I’m definitely a lot better player than I was when I was in Australia, and I sort of wish a lot more people that are on the fringes can go play week-in, week-out professional rugby in America,” Mason said. “I think a loan system would work well over there with an Australian team, but that’s just the way I think.”
But more on that later.
Mack Mason (R) might have played his last game of rugby as he prepares to take over the running of his family farm. Photo: Supplied.
Mason falls into the crop of the lost generation of playmakers that disappeared in the years following the 2015 World Cup.
With Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Christian Lealiifano and Matt To’omua in most of the key Super Rugby roles ahead of the 2019 World Cup in Japan, several youngsters were warehoused.
When they were selected in matchday squads, they generally sat on the pine and rarely were given more than a handful of minutes, if at all.
For promising players like Andrew Deegan, Sam Green, Jake McIntyre and, of course, Mason, their development stalled and most struggled when given a chance.
That was certainly the case for Mason, who after a stunning debut against a red-hot Crusaders side in 2017, hardly got back on the field and, unsurprisingly, struggled against the lowly Sunwolves when given a rare chance by Daryl Gibson in 2019.
Not long after, he was gone. Not just from the Waratahs but Australian rugby, too.
“Yeah, that was pretty tough actually,” Mason reflects.
“Probably my first 25 minutes was up there. I was slowly behind the eight-ball, just going off memory and then sort of came good leading into half-time and was good for about 10 minutes but got hooked soon after.
“That did hurt just because, as you said, I just hadn’t played and I sat on the bench probably four or five games before that but never got on for a minute, two minutes, three minutes, whatever it was but never actually had a genuine crack at that level, and that level is quicker.
“It’s funny because Kara Pryor, who was in our Seawolves team this year but was playing for the Sunwolves side on that evening in Newcastle, told me this year that he said at the time, ‘I think we just wrecked that ten’s Super Rugby career’ – and I think he might have been right.”
While Mason doesn’t harbour any resentment toward anyone, and is glad that he made the move from Queensland to the Waratahs in 2017 because of Cooper’s return from an eventful short-term stint at French glamour side Toulon, he believes he showed loyalty to the wrong people.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit, but honestly I don’t dwell too much into the past,” he said.
“I wish I also did a few things differently. The Waratahs were going through a fairly big transition with Foley and I probably stayed a year or two too long at the Waratahs, and gave them too much loyalty.
“I probably gave loyalty to the wrong people because I think we had three or four coaches when I was there in my period. I’d just get stable with one coach and then he’d get the sack or go somewhere else and then we’d have a new coach come in. It sort of was just never stable.
Mack Mason in full flight for the Junior Wallabies against New Zealand at Bond University on May 3, 2016. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“My first year there Chris Malone was the backs coach and I had a very good relationship with him. I think we were the second best attacking team in the competition and he got the flick, which I just don’t understand how that happens.
“I honestly probably wasn’t really ready or mature enough. I was probably a little bit cocky in the way I did things. I didn’t know I was at the time but now looking back, if I had done a few things different, I reckon it would have turned out a fair bit better.
“I think I was just loyal to the club a little bit too long and should have looked to at least move on and find a starting spot as a ten because that’s pretty much where you get your experience.”
What does Mason mean by “cocky”?
“I was never cocky but I probably always thought I was either right or didn’t take things the right way if a coach told me what to do,” Mason said.
“Growing up on a farm, when you’re 15, you’re talking to 40-year-olds and actually having genuine conversations with people. If you don’t agree with something, you say you don’t agree with something.
“I don’t think coaches handle that well.
Mack Mason isn’t your regular rugby player. Photo: Supplied
“If you really think about it, they put a lot of yes men around them so they don’t ever hear ‘no’.
“I should have been better personally in those situations, but I think it’s a good thing if you do have a good relationship with a coach where you can discuss things.”
Turning back to the MLR, Mason believes the competition is going from strength to strength having first headed over to the USA four years ago.
“I went to Austin first and the competition was probably you play one hard game in every four games,” he said.
“When I mean hard game, I probably don’t mean Super Rugby level but the way that competition has grown now is just insane.
“Going back this year, nearly every game was tough and anyone could beat anyone on their day.
“The crowds they get in Seattle are actually next level.”
The Seattle Seawolves made the Major League Rugby final in 2024. Photo: Supplied
As for the loan system Mason mentioned, the former Waratah believes Rugby Australia would be wise to establish partnerships with clubs in the MLR, especially given the influx of fringe players and coaches to the USA.
“I think it has massive opportunity with that,” Mason said. “It’s just aligning the competitions to ensure that can happen.
“They do have a cut-off week for signings, but honestly it’s very late in the year and I think the [New England] Free Jacks work that quite well. They get a lot of ITM Cup guys over and they play the last five games.
“I do think affiliations need to happen and I think it’s a growing competition where you can have that.
“It’s not like in Japan where it’s nearly fully professional and there’s nearly too much money there to do that.
“I know there’s a lot of Australian guys that just got into the LA [Rugby FC Los Angeles, whose new director of rugby is Stephen Hoiles]. Sam Harris is an assistant coach and I think Hoilesy’s got a fairly big part there as well.
“I can just see for those guys that aren’t getting genuine game time professionally, or your academy players, I just think it’s a great opportunity. They look after the accommodation, they give these guys a car and then they’re in a professional environment, and hopefully they play week in and week out.”
Mack Mason celebrates with his Seawolves teammates after scoring a try in Seattle. Photo: Supplied
As for Mason, that’s not for him to worry about as he returns to the farm.
But his astute suggestion could ensure Australian rugby doesn’t see another player of Mason’s extremely promising potential fail to get off the ground Down Under.
Our writer, Christy, recently took a trip to Seattle with Visit Seattle, diving into the city’s electric sports vibe, outdoor adventures, and renowned food scene. Christy explored Pike Place Market, where he joined a Coffee Crawl—the coffee in Seattle is possibly the best in the States. He also checked out the iconic Dick’s Burgers and stopped by sports bar Rough & Tumble, a woman-owned, women-focused sports bar that’s only the second of its kind in the U.S.
Beyond the food scene, he took a kayak tour on Elliott Bay with Alki Kayak Tours, soaking in epic views of the Seattle skyline, the Cascade Mountains, and the Olympic Mountains. As part of his sports trip to Seattle, Christy also visited the historic Shell House, home of the legendary “Boys in the Boat” and a symbol of rowing excellence. Meanwhile, Filson, an iconic Seattle-based outdoor clothing brand served as a beautiful setting for Christy’s interview with Detlef Schrempf and Philipp Grubauer – and is a top spot for shopping in town! During his trip, Christy stayed at Hotel Alexis in downtown Seattle.
Seattle’s mix of nature and urban edge makes it a magnet for pro athletes and fans alike. This visit was all about checking out the sporting pulse ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the city gearing up to host six games on home turf.
Check out more at Visit Seattle or book your trip now with itravel
