Finding My Place: How a 3am Call Led Me to Leicester Tigers

I arrived at Oval Park, the training ground of Leicester Tigers, in December 2009. I was surprised to find I’d be swapping Sydney in the height of summer for Leicester in the depths of winter, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity I’d been given. I’d been doing well in Australia and had recently found my way into the Waratahs setup, as well as playing a handful of 1st grade games for Eastern Suburbs.

I had a mentor in Mike Penistone, who was Director of Coaching at Easts, and he’d taken an interest in my progression. Mike is small in stature but big in personality; his Yorkshire accent and sense of humour drew people in, but it was his infectious enthusiasm for the game of rugby that brought us together. He ran fast-paced, relentless training sessions that pushed you physically hard whilst testing your knowledge and skill with short and deliberately vague instructions. I loved it, and it really helped me improve my game as well as build a stronger connection with rugby. His enthusiasm rubbed off on me, and it wasn’t long before I was soaking up all the information I could from Mike. He would talk about Leicester Tigers often, having coached their academy. He’d speak about the club’s mentality and attitude, the expectations set by years of success, but most importantly, he told me about how the great players conducted themselves and the relentless drive they showed.

I had finished my shift at Bondi Pizza and made my way home to the house I shared with four of my good friends in Paddington, a suburb of Sydney. After a few drinks, I went to bed when I was woken by a phone call at 3 am – it was Mike, who I knew was back in England. I answered to a barrage of questions: “Ed, how tall are you?” “How much do you weigh?” “Do you prefer lock or 8?” I answered them all, and he hung up. I went back to sleep. The next day, I had another call from Mike: “I’m in an office with Richard Cockerill and Matt O’Connor. They’ll give you a month’s trial and fly you over. They want you to come in two weeks; can you do it?” That’s how I ended up at Oval Park in freezing, sideways rain.

I was being put up in the Premier Inn on the outskirts of Oadby and arrived the night before my first day at Tigers. I was definitely nervous, but more than anything, I was determined to do as well as I could. In my mind, I thought if I kept my head down, worked hard, spoke when spoken to, and soaked up everything, the worst that could happen was I’d go back to Sydney with insight into what it takes to be at the best club side in the world. Mike had warned me that Richard Cockerill didn’t suffer fools or hesitate to say what he thought, so when he picked me up that first morning, I didn’t say much and fought off the nerves and doubt that started to creep in as the reality of the trial began to sink in. Cockers did nothing to alleviate that, nor did I expect him to; when he turned to me and said, “I’ll know within 30 minutes if you’re good enough to be here, and if you aren’t, then you might as well fuck off back to Australia.” The comment didn’t shock me, as Mike had told me a lot about Cockers and the tough, sink-or-swim mentality, but I was definitely aware that, after training, I hadn’t been told to leave! 

I took it one day at a time. When I collected my kit and went into the changing rooms, I found a peg, got changed, and went up to the gym. No introductions – dive right in and accept the glances of pity, like I was just another random bloke on trial who’d disappear as quickly as he arrived. No one was rude, but no one went out of their way to welcome you either. It was very much business-first, and I could see everyone getting on well with each other, so who was I to expect anything? I had a lot of work to do to prove myself to them, the coaches, and myself. I loved it because I’d been to Australia on my own, made friends, and looked after myself.

Here I was again, on my own with no friends and a lot to prove. This feeling was reinforced when I got back to the changing room and found my clothes in the bin – it turned out I’d changed in Richard Blaze’s spot. I didn’t like that and told Blaze he should’ve moved them to another peg and not the bin in a less polite manner. Blaze and I are good friends now, and we laugh about it, but a lot of rugby players are creatures of habit – you have your specific changing place, your own numbered kit, etc. So he walked in and saw random clothes in his space. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have done it. 

The month was exhausting, and I had a lot to do to meet the physical level required, but I worked my bollocks off, listened, and observed everything, which I wrote down at the end of each day. I played an A League game at Welford Road and scored a try. I was due to play for Nottingham on Christmas Eve, but sadly, the game was called off because of snow. I was coming to the end of the trial and hadn’t really spoken to Cockers – I’d avoided it and kept my head down. So when he finally spoke to me and said he liked what he’d seen, I was more relieved than anything. He told me I still had a lot of work to do, but that I could come back at the beginning of the next season with a contract.

After a month at Leicester and having started some friendships, I was desperate to get a foot in the door. I’d fallen in love with the club – the history, the support, the ground, and the complete obsession with winning. I knew I had to give up the life I’d built in Sydney, which would be difficult, leaving my friends behind and also ending an 18-month relationship with a girl from Sydney. But I knew I couldn’t turn down this opportunity, and my focus had shifted to trying to play for Leicester Tigers.

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