The UQ Rugby Academy has welcomed a new crop of international talent for 2008.
Chris Birkett and Charlie Ingall from the UK and Ryan Sullivan from the US are part of the intake, and have already demonstrated international differences in playing style and technique and their dedication to the game.
Chris and Charlie come from passionate rugby nations and developed a keen interest in the sport at an early age, both beginning their playing careers at Marlow RFC at age 6.
Chris’s love of the game was fostered in particular by his father, who represented Scotland.
Both players have since excelled, with Chris representing the Scottish Exiles and Charlie captaining the Irish
Exiles and competing in the European Championships.
Half a world away, Ryan became involved in rugby by default, signing up for his college’s team after missing the soccer tryouts. He has since played for his university, Virginia Tech, for almost five years.
All three players have high ambitions for their time at the Academy and hope to develop their game and get an edge on their team mates at home.
They said the most valuable aspect of their training at UQ so far had been learning to pay greater attention to detail.
“Play in Australia is much more technical; everything is broken down into technique,” said Chris.
“In the UK, training is just based on set play - practising line-outs, scrums and tackles, they don’t pick up on the technical aspect at all.”
Ryan was also full of praise for the play-making shown in Australia.
“In general the quality of the game is much higher in Australia,” he said.
“There is absolutely no attention to detail in the US and it is amazing how much is focused on technique at the Academy compared to home.”
Several UQRA players represent the UQ Rugby Club’s premier division team the Red Heavies, who kick off their 2008 season this month.
Media: Stephen Danckert at UQ SPORT (07 3346 7519, stephend@uqsport.uq.edu.au)
