Three American student-athletes are at Nelson College in New Zealand on the US Rugby Foundation-supported scholarship program.
This is the third year of the program. Four high schoolers from the USA have spent a term at Nelson College in the previous two years: Oliver Kirk (Chicago Lions), Max Doerfler (St. Thomas Aquinas), JW Sarkees (Greer 76ers), and Connor Bender (St. Ignatius, Cleveland). Kirk was invited by the school to return for another year and he helped Nelson to a South Island championship.
This year, the Nelson College Scholarship Program expanded to include three boys this time around. One of them is Jamie Clegg of Gallatin HS in Montana and the Montana state select side.
It's with Montana's select side that GRR caught up with him at the Great Northwest Challenge in 2024.
Jamie Clegg (front and center) being interviewed at the GNC in 2024
In New Zealand, Clegg has been embracing the opportunity.
"I'd like to start by saying just how grateful I am to be here," Clegg told GRR. "For anyone thinking of applying for this US Rugby Foundation scholarship, they really need to know that it is a firs- class organization that has treated us superbly, and has placed us into a stellar rugby environment. This has been one of the best experiences of my life. It has already made a tremendous impact on not just my rugby, but me as a person."
Still it's also a massive adjustment. It's difficult to compete for thr 1st XV at Nelson because there's a limit to how many new students can be considered for the 1sts as well as a limit on international players. Clegg quickly found himself a place on the 2nd XV, playing lock as well as playing for the intramural club team that also plays other clubs and schools.
He was put in place to captain the lineouts for the 2nd XV, which shows how well-regarded he is there.
"One of the biggest initial adjustments for me was just the fitness needed to play out here," Clegg told GRR. "I came here one of the fittest players on my US high school side, but that was not even close to what is needed here. I'm far fitter than I've ever been before. The game is played so much wider than typical American high school rugby; the handling is very slick, and the ambition to move the ball drives a lot of the play."
That fitness is needed to keep up with the pace of play.
"The tempo is much faster [than in the USA], with the ball kept alive or instantly available and then gone from rucks," Clegg added. "The game really flows much more to the edge, so work rate has become much more of a priority for me."
