Play Overseas With Inside Running Sports Management

New Zealands and Australians have one or two things in common, our forbears fought two World Wars together, we love giving each other grief and both nations are intrepid travelers. The famed OE is a right of passage for thousands of Antipodeans. What better way to combine your time exploring the globe with a season or two playing club rugby abroad? 

You don’t have to be Mitre 10 Cup or Shute Shield level athlete to enjoy the numerous benefits rugby has to offer. Grassroots and suburban clubs also need to bolster their playing rosters. Clubs at all levels are eager to offer a flight, a place to stay, some paid employment and a new team to join. 


If travelling and exploring the world is your primary motivation don't get too hung up on playing level or location. Contrary to popular believe a very small number of clubs offer match fees or retainers. The vast majority of rugby players in the world are amateur and have to go to work to pay their bills, just like the rest of us! You are far better off being a standout player at a lower level and enjoying the experience. There is nothing worse as a player than joining a foreign club and being unable to live up to huge expectations that have been heaped upon you. Inside Running Sports Management can find you the right club to ensure your time abroad remains memorable for all the right reasons! 

Playing overseas is an incredible experience, rugby can be the vehicle to create lifelong friendships, explore new locations and create wonderful memories. You don't have to be a fulltime professional to benefit immensely from the game. The opportunity to play rugby overseas will challenge many of your beliefs. It certainly broadened my horizons. After three separate stints with overseas clubs, my views on the world have changed, I think more critically on a range of wider issues, I have greater empathy for other cultures, and even my taste buds have changed. Playing alongside teammates from South Africa, Wales, St Lucia, Guernsey, Tonga and Portugal have made me a better person.

The entire rugby world is renowned for its hospitality, so prepare to be embraced with open arms. Expect to be picked upon your arrival at the airport, driven straight to your new clubhouse and plonked on a bar stool while a nice pint is poured to welcome you into the fold. 


Most rugby clubs are full of builders, sparkies, plasterers and plumbers with extensive employment networks. Provided you are happy to take on whatever work is being offered you will find yourself in constant work, enabling you to clear your bar tab while still saving a few bucks to do some more intrepid travel at the seasons end. My advice would be not to be hung up over the type of mahi (work) being lined up for you initially. Roll your sleeves up and get stuck in son. Gain a reputation for being a good worker and more lucrative opportunities will quickly present themselves. The old rugby adage that “if you don’t work hard off the field, you will never work hard on it” still rings true wherever you choose to play the game. Some things never change.
Location: New Zealand

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