Quill Yates ’17 moves to New Zealand for professional rugby career
With the large role that athletics play on Colby’s campus, it is unsurprising that the College has produced some stellar athletes who have gone on to play at a higher level postcollege. Most recently, Quill Yates ’17 has taken his rugby talents across the world to Christchurch, New Zealand to play semi-professional rugby for the Linwood Rugby Club. Rugby is a club sport at Colby, and a vast majority of the team’s members come into college with little to no experience with the sport, including Yates, who had never touched a rugby ball until coming to Colby. Soon after joining the club during his freshman year, however, Yates realized that he had found his calling. Yet it was not until close to graduation that Yates realized continuing his rugby career postcollege was a real possibility.
While playing at Colby, Yates quickly established himself as a leader both on and off the field. Some of his notable accomplishments include helping lead the team to the playoffs of the 15th National Tournament, helping bring Colby into the national spotlight, as the team was ranked 22nd in the country. Furthermore, Yates helped lead Colby to a seventh place finish in Colby’s first ever National Tournament appearance for sevens rugby, making the USA sevens all-tournament team himself. To cap off an incredible senior year, Yates also recieved the award for “Best Tackle of the Year” by the National Small College Rugby Organization.
Once the idea of possibly playing rugby post college was set in Yates’ mind, he reached out to his mentor and Colby coach Leo Lafaiali’i. Lafaiali’i, having both played and coached professionally for many years, is very well connected with the New Zealand rugby scene. “Coach Leo was a huge help in the entire process and really made the entire thing possible,” Yates said.
Yates was put in touch with the manager of the Linwood Rugby Club and, after talking with him on the phone, was offered a spot on the Division 1 team in Christchurch. New Zeland Yates described the league itself as “that step right between playing full-time professionally and playing recreationally. It is amazing to be surrounded by people that take the game seriously and take their growth seriously. I have all the resources I need to take my game as far as I physically can and that is a really cool feeling.”
As far as the makeup of teams in New Zealand go, Yates has found that the Linwood club is “much more diverse than your typical New Zealand [team]” and is “primarily made up of Maoris and Samoans.” Despite being new to the team, he has found a “really strong family culture at the club…[and that] the team and boys have been incredibly welcoming.” This strong sense of community was an aspect of rugby that Yates found incredibly important throughout his time at Colby, and noted several times how “Leo created such a positive environment for the team back at Colby and [that] it meant the world to all of us. I feel incredibly lucky to have had such a great and knowledgeable guy as a coach and mentor.”
Though Yates was coached by one of the best throughout his time at Colby, he has quickly learned that the game is played at an entirely different pace in New Zealand. Not only is New Zealand home to the best team in the world, the All Blacks, but Christchurch is also considered to be the center of rugby in New Zealand. While Yates picked up his first rugby ball freshman year of college, in Christchurch, “these boys have had a ball in their hands since they could walk. Everything seems to be second nature to them.” Because of this, Yates has found that “a lot of the work has been going back to square one to make sure I have the fundamentals down perfect and then we build up from there. If you can’t pass you can’t play.” Luckily his hard work has paid off, as he earned a solid amount of minutes in Linwood’s first preseason game of the year this past weekend. As for the preseason game itself, he found it to be a very “tough wake-up call” due to the quick play set on a “seemingly contradictory combination of strict team structure and improvised moves.”
Since arriving in New Zealand, Yates has found that in addition to connecting him with Linwood Rugby, “there are tons of meaningful jobs that a Colby education qualifies you for while you are here.” While the majority of his time is taken up at the training facility, Yates has also used this opportunity to connect with the surrounding area and city of Christchurch. Currently, Yates has found work with a company that focuses on helping young people who have suffered from depression and anxiety get back into the workforce. In a city that suffered a severe earthquake ten years ago, he has found his work “really amazing…and [full of] great people…The energy in the city around its growth and rebuilding is great to be a part of.” In addition to working with this company, Yates has begun work on a sheep farm and urban organic farm to fill more of his time.
When asked if he has any advice to give to current students, Yates noted how important he believes going abroad is. He claims an experience abroad can help any young athlete looking to play their sport at a higher level: “It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. There is plenty of time to chase a career in the future. You only have so many years where your body is able to play a sport at its highest level. There is nothing like committing to a team and a sport and seeing where it can take you.”
Yates is excited to continue playing the sport he loves. While the preseason has just begun for Linwood, it will surely be an incredible season and experience for the young Colby graduate.
