very quickly, so I like to change
things up. I make no apologies for that.”
In our game we bury one-club players
under praise while at the same time
devouring the transfer news about the
biggest Test stars. But there is a whole
other world out there, of levels, nations
and cultures we may know little about.
On the dawn of professionalism, John
Daniell wrote in his book Confessions of
a Rugby Mercenary: “The lot of a rugby
mercenary is hard to beat.” But how do
today’s journeymen see it? Some move
for money, others for life experiences,
and many more as it is the only way to
find a job. We meet
a few characters...
SLIDING DOORS
IT IS amazing how
two contrasting
routes can lead
vastly different people to the same
place. For Irish tighthead Jamie Hagan
and English fly-half Sam Katz, their paths
to Béziers in the ProD2 differ greatly.
Hagan came through the Irish elite
system, operating at Leinster on three
separate occasions, winning silverware,
powering Connacht, winning a single
Ireland cap and even playing Super
Rugby for Melbourne Rebels. But
throughout his time at big teams, fate
often stepped in; things would turn out
differently than he would have initially
envisaged. Not that the philosophical
prop is bitter about things – far from it.
He is just aware that life is full of quirks.
Giving one example, he says: “During
my second stint at Leinster, Michael
Bent came in and played ahead of me.
I was dropped back to third-choice
tighthead. Then London Irish signed me
(for the following season). It’s a funny
thing but when I’d signed, it felt like
there was no pressure and I played
unbelievably well for Leinster.
“I suppose I got the rub of the green
with injuries to others. I played when we
won the Amlin Cup and I started more. I
remember Joe Schmidt asked in March
if I’d signed for Irish. He said, ‘Maybe
we’ll see if we can get you out of that’.”
Nothing ever came from that chat and
Hagan moved to the English Premiership.
At 25 years old and after five years in
the Irish elite game, he was ready for a
change. Today he ponders if perhaps hewas hasty, but adds even-handedly:
“There are definitely those sliding
doors moments for everyone.”
Which leads to the prop’s next example.
His time at Irish was not great. A regime
change brought in new management,
who Hagan feels just did not rate him,
even after a third spell back at Leinster
on loan. He left his contract early but
on the horizon was yet another superb
opportunity, this time Down Under.
“I’d finished at Irish but I was still so
hungry to play and a friend was working
with the Rebels, who were looking for a
tighthead,” Hagan recalls. “At 18 or 19
that was my Friday morning: watching
my favourite players in Super Rugby.
Irish guys don’t play Super Rugby! This
was surreal, like signing for Man United!
“But then two games into the Super
Rugby season, my now wife (Sinead)
found a tumour in her neck. That was
devastating. It went on for the majority
of the season – I was playing and
training but I was in a very bad place.
The Rebels team doctor knew about the
situation but that was it, no one else did.
“I was in such a bad way with lots of
different things going on and that was
it: my contract there finished early.”
Sinead made a full recovery but Hagan
has no problem admitting he fell out of
love with rugby. The pair prepared to
find jobs in Oz, start new lives. But then
the chance to sign for a second-tier
French side as a medical joker came up.
It is in France that Hagan believes he
has rekindled his affection for the sport- even if another
coaching regime
change swiftly
after his signing
made him wonder
if a brick had been
put through those
Special Report
“Two games into the Super Rugby
season, my wife found a tumour in
her neck. That was devastating”
An adventure Both Freddie Michalak and Gregor Townsend went to South Africa to play for the SharksRepresenting Perpignan
John Daniell in 2002