ABU DHABI // Iziq Foa’i, the young Abu Dhabi Harlequins centre, has had his pursuit of a professional career in the game revived by a move to New Zealand.
The former Cambridge High School pupil has been playing Premiership club rugby in the north of the country’s South Island.
He has also been training with the high-performance wider training group of Tasman Makos, who play in the ITM Cup, New Zealand’s national provincial competition.
“The first couple of months were hard in terms of going outside the bubble of the UAE, trying to find my feet again and make new friends,” Foa’i said.
“The lifestyle is completely different to here, and the rugby has been a step up from what I have played here.
“But I am loving it. It has put me out of my comfort zone. I am really enjoying it and seeing good results.”
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Foa’i had feared his chances of making it as a professional might be lost when separate attempts to land contracts in both union and league in the UK came to nothing last year.
He had impressed during trials with Harlequins’ associate club in London, but a permanent deal fell through due to the terms of the work permit.
The same issue scuppered a move to Warrington Wolves, the rugby league outfit in the north of England.
However, Jeremy Manning, his former coach and teammate at Harlequins, encouraged him not to give up on his dream.
Manning subsequently made plans for him to go and live with his own parents at Blenheim, New Zealand, and sorted him out with a club to play for.
He also recommended him to Leon MacDonald, the 56-cap former New Zealand full back who coaches Tasman Makos.
Body: Manning, who enjoyed a successful professional career of his own before relocating to the capital in 2012, said the feedback he has received on his protégé has been encouraging so far.
“I’ve had a couple of emails from Leon MacDonald and one of his club coaches who have said Izzy has been excelling,” Manning said before flying to Hong Kong to join the Fiji sevens coaching staff this week.
“They reckon he has a long future ahead of him, which is really good to hear. I wasn’t shocked to receive that email, as I know the attributes he has, but I was surprised to hear him talked about in the terms Leon talked about him, so early.”
Foa’i moved to Abu Dhabi with his family when he was 14 years old. He played his youth rugby at Harlequins, and was a key figure of the men’s team while still only a schoolboy.
Now 20, he is having the next phase of his rugby development overseen by a player who he well remembers watching play Test matches for New Zealand.
“I watched Leon MacDonald when I was young,” said Foa’i, who has been back at home in Abu Dhabi this week and will head back to New Zealand on Thursday.
“Finding out he was my coach, having meetings with him, and going from seeing him on the TV to seeing him at training every week, has been amazing.
“I’ve been learning lots of small technical things about my rugby, and have been trying to restructure everything I thought I knew, and all the finer details.”
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