Is there anyway i can get a trial with a rugby union team without having to be scouted?

Question

i have played for my county but had to leave for other commitments at the time. I play to a high standard and would like to no whether there is anyway i can get a trial with a club like Sale Sharls rather then playing county again and gettin spotted that way

Answer 1

If you have any footage of your game(s) for your county, it would probably be a good idea to put that together on a disc. I'm sure the directors of rugby at most of the clubs are happy to look at footage sent in by aspiring players; in fact that is part of their brief. At the very least it would get seen by one of the coaching staff or academy heads.

From there, most clubs also operate systems whereby they "trial" players over a period of two or three weeks, and the nature of the second-team matches on Monday nights is such that, with relaxed eligibility restrictions compared to the Premiership, the clubs can play almost anyone in that competition.

Another way would be to join a club in National One (most of them are not fully professional), especially one which has a close relationship with a Premiership club. eg Bedford with Leicester, Esher with Harlequins etc. You may still see that as waiting to be scouted though.

Put together something of a rugby CV and send it to a few clubs that take your fancy is my advice. They'd be silly to overlook someone like you if your standard is as you say.

Good luck.

Answer 2

its very unusual for rugby clubs to trial anyone without prior scouting. They dont do open trials, not like football clubs. i cant see anyway around it mate, sorry. work hard, and you might get noticed again.