It has been 17 months since former Red Devil James Perrett began his life-changing UK adventure – an experience that has outstripped his expectations.
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In June, 2017, the Gunnedah native left for the UK after responding to an advertisement from the Scarborough rugby club, in North Yorkshire, seeking a youth development officer.
Te position has allowed him to combine dual passions: playing rugby and promoting the sport at a youth level.
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He had previously served as NSW Rugby Union’s North Coast development officer.
Perrett is currently in his second season playing for Scarborough.
Last season the club won promotion from the Yorkshire 1 league to North East 1, the seventh tier of the domestic competitions, after finishing second and then benefiting from their opponent in the scheduled promotion playoff game forfeiting.
Scarborough also won a knockout competition to claim the Yorkshire Shield, which Perrett said was one of the oldest trophies in rugby.
The side played 32 matches last season, losing only six.
“The first season over here was far better than I thought it was going to be, on both the playing side and working side of rugby,” Perrett said, in a written response to questions by the Namoi Valley Independent.
After six rounds in North East 1, Scarborough were in fourth place with four wins.
“Going into this season, everyone was quite nervous about how we would perform in the league above, as last time they got promoted (10 years ago) they didn’t win a game and got convincingly beaten in them and ended [up] dropping down a league,” he said, adding that the club was demoted again the following season.
“[But] as it turns out, our systems and our strength as a team that got us through Yorkshire 1 has been the base and the stabilising factor to getting us four [wins] out of six games so far in this league.
“While teams are still trying to learn to play together, as in this league clubs have quite a large players pot … we have a relatively similar team to last season.”
As you would expect, Perrett has mixed his rugby with sightseeing – travelling throughout England in the summer, as well as Portugal and Greece, including the Greek Islands.
He also completed the Cateran Yomp, a gruelling 90-kilometre trek around the Scotland Highlands that raises money for ABF The Soldiers' Charity. He did it with two other people, including fellow Gunnedah boy Sam Beer.
“Our trio completed it in 22 hours,” Perrett said. “And it was by far one of the hardest things, both physically and mentally, I have ever done.”
