LEAPOF FAITH
Firstly Jake, yourmove to theUSA, can you
explainhow it all cameabout?
Well I’m a born and bredWorcesterman. I’ve played
all my rugby atWorcester since the age of six, and
leavingwas never really onmymind. It wasn’t
until I suffered a coupleACL injuries towards the
end ofmy time at the club that I ever started to
contemplate a change of scenery. As it happened,
my contract was up for renewal atWorcester and it
was from there that formerWarrior, Dan Schofield,
putme in touchwith Phil Cammwho is the
ManagingDirector at Griffins Rugby inDallas. From
there I had initial talks about the potential move and
how it could benefit bothmywife and I, on and
off the rugby pitch. I had also recently completed
a degree in the RPA’s Leadership andManagement
course at NorthumbriaUniversity, so I felt reasonably
confident ofmy chances of succeeding in a totally
new environment such as theUS.
How are youfinding life inDallas?
My family and I absolutely love life inDallas, it’s an
up and comingplace andUS rugby is really starting
tomake a huge impression over here. The people
are great and theweather is perfect, not tomention
the opportunity it has givenme to continuemy
rugby but also build foundations away from the
pitchwhich I can usewhen I officially hang up
the boots.
Your new club, Griffins Rugby, can youdescribe
the experience so far?
Griffins Rugby is a brilliant club, whichhas immense
potential in the risingworldof US rugby. Phil Camm
who started the club, movedover from England
toAmerica about 12 years ago and saw a big
opportunity to build something quite significant.
The club is only eight years old, but has been
built entirely from the ground up. From starting
in the third division of Texas rugby, the club has
quickly climbed through the ranks andwe’re now
competing in the top tier in the region, which is an
outstanding achievement. Forme personally, I’m
lovingmy time at Griffins, the club has a fantastic
culture and a great drive to succeed and compete
at the highest level.More than that, the club
understands the business of rugby.We are opening
a 17.000sqft training facility, whichwill also be open
toNFL combine hopefuls andwe have an agreement
for a public/private partnershipwith the city to build
a stadium. As rugby clubs inAmerica go, Griffins is
one of the pioneers.
SAME SPORTDIFFERENTCOUNTRY
Can you explainhowdifferent the styleof
rugby is in theUS?
It’s extremely physical! I would say if notmore
physical than anything I have experienced
throughoutmy professional career back in England.
Most of the players have a college football
Moving
Stateside
Alumni
Iabsolutely
cherishedmytime
workingforthe
RPA. Itopenedmy
eyestoawhole
newworldthat
existsafter
rugby.
After spendinghis entire career atWorcesterWarriors, former RPA Player
Representative, JakeAbbott,made thebravedecision tomovewithhiswife to the
USAand takeupaprofessional contractwithGriffins Rugby inDallas. Here Jake
explains his reasons behind themove, his love for Texan lifeandhis thoughts on the
growing interest for rugby inAmerica.
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