How did you get started in rugby?
I actually started playing rugby league back in my home country, New Zealand, when I was 10, but when my family moved here four years later, I switched to rugby union. My dad used to play the sport when he was a kid and I grew up watching it. Every New Zealander wants to be a rugby player, like the All Blacks. That was the incentive for me and it stuck. I started playing with the Abu Dhabi Harlequins when I was 14 or 15 and have played with them ever since. I’m 19 now, but for the past three years, I’ve played with the first team – that’s the top team in the men’s division. I’ll be off to Leeds University this year, though, to study sports business management, and hopefully I’ll be able to achieve my dream of going professional with a club over there.
What do you like most about rugby?
In the beginning I liked it because I was a big child so it went with my body type. It was very physical so I had a natural advantage and I found it fun. Moving to Abu Dhabi it became more of a family thing and it gave me the opportunity to meet all these people and make new friends, who became my rugby family – a family away from home. That’s what I love most about it. There were a lot of kids from around the world – a few Kiwis, some English people, Australians. I was new to that environment and it was awesome.
What has been your greatest achievement?
For the past few summers I’ve been doing preseason training with the London Harlequins. I was lucky enough to be chosen from Abu Dhabi Quins to play with their under-18s team in a tournament. Then the second time I was lucky to play with the London Harlequins in the open men’s division in the World Club 7s at Twickenham. It was definitely one of my favourite experiences, competing with my childhood heroes, people like Carlin Isles and Nick Evans.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to get started in junior rugby?
Rugby is for anyone – there are different positions on the field to suit all shapes and sizes. It’s good fun, a good way to meet new people and make new friends. And if you want to excel in rugby, you never know what will happen if you train hard, but in the juniors, it’s really about having fun.
