While it’s unlikely Khyree Poole will be drafted this weekend in the Major League Rugby draft, he’s a player you might want to keep an eye on.

A speedy, shifty scrumhalf from Temecula Calif., only 5-6, he is also very physical, quick over the ball, and … a bit of a cutup.

What do we mean by that last bit? In his MLR Draft application he listed among the interesting facts about himself that he’s the oldest of eight kids, he loves music, and … he doubles as a flotation device in the event of a water landing.

“You know I like to be the one keeping everyone loose and everyone smiling,” Poole told Goff Rugby Report. “I like to have fun and stay positive.”

It’s that positive attitude that has seen Poole through. He began playing rugby in high school after an injury saw him miss out on his spring track season. A kick returner and wide receiver in football, he was also a 100-meter sprinter and a triple-jumper in track and field. Think on that combination for a bit: wide receiver, so he has acceleration and good hands; kick returner, ditto on the acceleration and then there’s the shiftiness and ability to read space. Sprinter means he is a trained runner (like Carlin Isles), and triple jump requires power, timing, balance, and explosiveness. Sounds like rugby was just the next step to take.

And so it was. It was the spring of 2016.

“I saw a bunch of guys playing a game that looked a little like football and I thought I’d try it out,” he said. It went well … sort of. “I broke my wrist ten minutes into my first game! But I walked away from that game, cradling my wrist, saying I’d never had so much fun.”

Playing for Temecula HS and the Norsemen HS club in Southern California, Poole embraced the game, and parlayed that into a place at New England College.

It was a big shift to go all the way to New Hampshire, and in the end the timing was lousy. Coach Tal Bayer was about to leave, as were a large number of veteran players, and what was left was a team of young guys with no coach.

“It was tough but I also think we learned a lot from it,” he said (there’s that stubborn positivity again). “The first thing for me is my belief in God and I put my faith in Him that something would happen.”

What happened was that Andrew Evans from Trinity Western called. The college in Langley, BC just south of Vancouver, was making rugby varsity, and he needed players. So another multi-thousand-mile trip saw Poole in Canada trying to help build a program.

“I loved it,” he said. “The school and the area are so interesting to me. I have been studying psychology and it was so cool to see people from so many different backgrounds. We had a lot of growing pains, but we learned from them. We played Saint Mary’s without our flyhalf, and it was rough, but we kept at it. We played a lot of really strong teams, and I believe you learn more from losing than you do from winning.”

He laughs.

“We learned a lot!”

Maybe Poole isn’t a finished product yet, but he’s a talent, that’s for sure. Often one of the smallest players on the field, he usually can be seen knocking the big guys to the dirt (see his highlight video). An explosive runner, he also has superb hands, catching iffy passes one-handed (thanks to his wide receiver training) and never breaking stride. 

He loves to poach the ball.

“I love to poach!” (See?)

I love to be physical and to just play the game, but I take a lot of pride in stealing the ball in the ruck.”

On the serious side, Poole is indeed the oldest of eight kids. He’s learned to be the kind of person who sets an example—a leader.

“I’m not the kind of guy who tells my siblings how they should act,” he said. “I just want to be a good example to them. I try to be a good big brother through my actions.”

He’s not just a big brother. Watch out for this guy, he’s larger than life.