Australian Rugby Sevens and Waratahs’ past player Nathan Trist believes the abbreviated format of the game has the potential to change Rugby in this country.
Speaking with RUPA from Darwin, where he is now working as a Doctor in the Darwin Hospital Emergency Department, Trist also said that many Super Rugby players would be casting a wishful eye at the progress of the Australian Rugby Sevens program.
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“I’m so happy with how Rugby Sevens is tracking and I really think it has the potential as a sport to be to Rugby what T20 is to cricket,” Trist said. “To see the Sydney Sevens sell out is one of the biggest things that has happened in Australian Rugby in the last decade, and to see the sport’s popularity grow reflects the hard work that so many people have dedicated to Sevens.
“Our men’s and women’s players can now really focus on being full time Sevens athletes. A lot of the 15’s players are looking at the profile they’re developing and the lifestyle they live, travelling around the globe and then playing at the Olympic Games, with a fair bit of envy.”
Trist supports the concept of introducing Wallabies into the Men’s program in the lead-up to Rio, but is cautious in predicting the impact they will have.
“I think there’s benefits to having Wallabies such as Quade Cooper, Nick Cummins and Henry Speight join the squad; they have a phenomenal skillset which can translate well to Sevens, and they also help get people through the door to see them play live and on television.
“However, it’s been interesting to watch them and a few of the other guys who’ve come across from Super Rugby jump in there and actually struggle a little bit at first; it shows how developed the guys who are actually focused on Sevens are becoming. Sevens takes a lot of time to learn, you need a different fitness base and I think if we’re purely looking for results in Rio it will be predominantly the guys who are dedicating a full year to the program who will get the job done.”
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Now 33 years old, former winger Trist hasn’t put the boots on since scoring a try off the bench for Sydney Uni in the 2013 Shute Shield Grand Final, finishing as the Club’s all-time leading point scorer after a 41-22 win over Eastwood and lining up in a star-studded team which included the likes of Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Greg Jeloudev and Tom Kingston.
Instead, focus has shifted to his career as a Doctor, and he’s relishing the chance to learn and progress during his time in the Northern Territory.
“I finished my studies and finished playing in 2013 thinking I was hanging up the boots for just a little while and I would probably be back in a couple of months, but that hasn’t been the case; it coincided with having a baby and starting working as a doctor at the Royal Prince Alfred for the next two years,” he said.
“With that came a whole new bunch of challenges in regards to looking after patients and learning how to be a doctor, as well as commencing shift work which restricted opportunities to stay as involved in Rugby as I would have liked. I helped the colts at Sydney Uni a little bit but wasn’t able to commit to say, coaching the backs in Colts or Second Grade, due to the shift work.
“This year I have decided to focus on Emergency Medicine as a speciality and therefore have come up to Darwin to explore that further,” Trist continues. “Darwin is the tertiary hospital and the major trauma hospital for the islands and the Northern Territory and it’s a pretty challenging place to work.
“I have a strong interest in indigenous health and working with the remote populations, and I have been exposed to a lot of new things including people coming into the hospital from remote communities with tropical diseases which you don’t see down south. It’s a really good challenge.
“I haven’t gotten involved in the Rugby scene up here yet. (Former Brumby, Red and Australian Sevens player) Tim Atkinson lives here and is involved with one of the Rugby Clubs; I have spoken to him about going down and maybe strapping on the boots again or helping out at training, but for the time being I’m simply playing Division Seven touch footy up here!”
Tim Atkinson (L) celebrates scoring a try for the Australian Rugby Sevens team with Mat Rogers (centre) and Wendell Sailor (R) at Ballymore, 2002.
Trist would have become a Doctor one year earlier if not for the decision to put his studies on hold at the age of 29 and spend a season as a full-time professional for the Waratahs. He made just the one Super Rugby appearance in 2012, against the Reds, but he stands by the choice he made.
“It was an interesting decision, because being at that age I had to approach my chance at the Waratahs as a player who wasn’t there to be developed, but was there to have a crack for a short period,” he explained. “Unfortunately I didn’t get too much game time but I got on the field, so that was something!
“It was definitely worth it, and for every player who has dedicated so much time any sport they’ll relate to the personal challenge of seeing how far you can take it. You have to make sure you’ve trained your hardest and explored all of your opportunities while you’re fit and young enough to play at the top of your ability, and I’m glad I did that.”
Rookie Waratah Tom Robertson (pictured above), who signed in 2016 after showing promise as a prop in the Shute Shield, Buildcorp NRC and for Australia U20s, is currently replicating Trist’s career choice away from the game and studying medicine.
“I actually met with Robbo last year when he was deciding what to do and assessing all of his options in light of his contract offer from the Waratahs,” Trist said. “Medicine is a very challenging degree as you can imagine; you pretty much have to treat it like a full time job, particularly in the last two years of your degree, when you’re based at the hospital.
“It is a significant challenge to juggle a fulltime training load and commit yourself properly to the medical degree, but in the first two years it is slightly more flexible and that’s what Tom’s decided to do; I commend him for that. I’d encourage any other professional Rugby players who are looking at going down the same path to see whether they’re able to perhaps work out a flexible training program, particularly with their gym work, and to sit down with their RUPA Player Development Managers (PDMs) to see how it will all look for them.”
Trist is actively getting involved in the strengthening of RUPA’s Past Players’ network being driven by RUPA Player Relations Manager Patrick Phibbs.
“When I was playing Sevens in 2006 and 2007, we were on casual contracts and therefore not members of RUPA,” he explains. “I first joined RUPA when I played for the (original) Melbourne Rebels in the Australian Rugby Championship (ARC), and then had a bit to do with (PDM) Lachie McBain during my time at the Waratahs.
“It’s a really positive initiative to see RUPA promoting the past player network that’s there; we need to look after guys that poured so much into Rugby during their careers. If you compare those guys to others out there in the workforce, we need to work out a way where their investment in Rugby doesn’t disadvantage them when they transition out of the game a little later than most.
“Using our networks is a great way to do that, and with past players moving into different fields and being able to help the younger ones coming through to think about life after Rugby. That’s going to be a big step forward.”
Trist took a lot out of playing in the ARC for the Rebels, and is pleased to have seen the competition return as the Buildcorp NRC in 2014.
“I think there’s no doubt that the third tier competition is beneficial for Australian Rugby and it will just take a bit of time for it to find its place and its supporter base,” he said. “The different approach between the ARC and NRC is that it’s a more sustainable financial model.
“It’s really good to see it on Fox Sports and I definitely think it is a vital stepping stone for guys to go between Club and Super Rugby. Unfortunately I think it is going to be a little bit to the detriment of the Sydney and Brisbane Club Rugby competitions, but if it works properly it’s going to be better in the long run.
“The proof is definitely in the pudding; we had an eighteen year old James Hanson in Melbourne, and look at what he’s gone on to do. There were other guys as well (Luke Burgess, Dave Dennis, Matt Hodgson, Digby Ioane and Dan Palmer) who have since gone on and played for the Wallabies, and then there were players such as myself who were able to explore how far we could get in Rugby.
“I particularly remember Benny Alexander played for Western Sydney and was, at that stage, just a guy who had played a bit of Club Rugby. He really stood out playing in the ARC and has gone on to become a great Brumby and a great Wallaby purely from that competition, and that will continue to happen now from the NRC.”
