Rugby and Travel

What you need to know 

So many rugby players in South Africa dream of receiving an international rugby opportunity in the hope to earn the foreign currency contracts that many A league rugby clubs offer in Europe, the United States (as USA rugby is developing fast) and even other areas of the world.

 This is mainly because of the South African rugby system’s post school inability to satisfy the quench for professional rugby pathways and competitions to many aspirant players who don’t receive bursaries, rugby scholarships, other sport scholarships or rugby union contracts. College rugby is non-existent and professional sporting development platforms too.

In the past two years many organizations have emerged that offer rugby opportunities abroad with the promise of placement and transfer of talented players into lucrative contracts, and/or promote themselves as a recruitment agency specialising in these opportunities. But the question is do they deliver on their promises, and what are the real life experiences of many players whose parents or sponsors paid the expensive price in an effort to afford their players the opportunity to play rugby on foreign soil?

Many players return with experiences that range from good to almost career destroying. Few parents and players are prepared for the fluctuating exchange rates and cost of living abroad, many hidden costs not disclosed, language and cultural barriers, and too often poor living conditions. Players and coaches can be rude and unwelcoming, expecting a lot more from players than what they are truly prepared for.  

Although there are players that have beaten the odds, the success rate of post school international placement is low. The club systems in Europe function entirely differently to the typical South African mainstream clubs, with strong youth development strategies, and strong junior academies with intense rugby development programs.

Our advice to players aspiring for an international playing opportunity, would be to prepare very well!

Not only from a rugby perspective, but also in strength and conditioning, mental and physical health, financially, know how to travel and survive abroad, request information to important services such as transport, medical, accommodation, daily nutrition, but also being prepared to communicate in the language of the country they are traveling to.

We recommend for a player athlete to register as a student athlete at rugby academies with a credible reputation for individual player development. The UXI Rugby Institutes have many success stories of individuals who registered as a player with the purpose to travel overseas in a better athletic form a few months later. The professional CV’s, that is developed through video and game analysis, continuous monitoring and evaluation, data analysis allows for the compilation of a portfolio that is credible. Add to this a Curry Cup cap or 4, play experience in a rugby club in an A league in South Africa,  a qualification in an occupation that has international standing, language lessons a life skills program that equips the player for life, and a WELL prepared player departs on an overseas journey with a higher success probability. 

UXI’s International Rugby institutes’ programs have benefited many overseas clubs and players alike. Every year a number of overseas players join the UXI Rugby Institute program to learn from one of the best rugby nations in the world https://uxisport.co.za/rugby-careers/ .The program also assists coaches with skills and qualifications, and with the demand internationally for coaches the player can also be employed as such at international clubs. 

UXI International Rugby Institutes will prepare you for;

1. Rugby opportunities Europe,
2. Rugby opportunities Germany,
3. Rugby opportunities USA,
4. Rugby opportunities UK.