Clegg Inspired to Pay Nelson College Experience Forward
Clegg Inspired to Pay Nelson College Experience Forward
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."
Tactics
Tactics are different, also.
"Although I have played in several systems in my US teams, I find it to be much more structured here in New Zealand than anything I have ever seen," said Clegg. It still goes down to work rate. "You always have a job; I feel like I always know what I should be doing, rather than just running about and finding work like I did in America. There is more reliance on teammates to do the right things, and then playing off that."
Several aspects of the game are significantly more physical.
"Things like the ruck are completely different," Clegg explained. "I used to just look to hold a good body position to seal rucks to retain our ball, whereas now in rucks I'm constantly seeking more contact and trying to move people away. It is even as detailed as aiming to land on top of them and take them out of play. I can already see how this whole experience is going to directly translate into my future in college rugby."
Off the Field
In the dorms Clegg said the students have been kind and welcoming.
'The staff are wonderful and have consistently done their best to make it feel like home. I do find the schoolwork here to be a bit easier, but I wouldn't say that's a bad thing. I'm also going to miss having a bakery around the corner with quality pies.
The Americans dod hang out together but they're worked to make connections with the other boys at the school. Still, they get along well and sometimes go out for a meal just to check in.
"It's been a great opportunity to get to know each other and share our experiences," Clegg said. "I do make a conscious effort to try and meet and talk with as many different people as possible. I feel it's important I make the most of this unique opportunity to meet people from different cultures. And to give you a small sense of how rugby obsessed the culture is here, even boys not on the rugby team will happily go out with as a group with us to play touch rugby."
Lessons Learned
"I've learned so much," said Clegg. "I've been keeping a notebook with tricks and drills. Not surprisingly it is already really full. There are countless small details I've picked up that have started to make me a much better player overall, but even the fundamentals of my game have seriously improved. I do hope to try and pass some of these details along to other players in the future. If nothing else I will look to convey a sense of the standards that are possible. I know the goal is that those of us who get this opportunity come back and help advance the culture around US rugby, and I truly think that will start to happen. From being here I can understand why the US Rugby Foundation sees this as one opportunity for positive change. I will come back inspired to pay this forward."
This has already happened. Coming back from Nelson College, Kirk matriculated to Cal and started in the D1A final as a freshman, and scored a try. Bender was a co-captain for St. Ignatius and helped them to a national single-school championship. He will be attending the Naval Academy. Sarkees has committed to Penn State, while Doerfler was accepted to West Point but, after an ACL tear, delayed his arrival at the US Military Academy until this coming fall.
Applications for the 2026 Nelson College are not yet open, but this program will continue through the US Rugby Foundation. To support the US Rugby Foundation, go to: usrugbyfoundation.org.
