Lack of offers told Joe to go... and he’s loving his life abroad
WHEN Joe Tomlinson upped sticks last May, most of Welsh rugby didn’t know what they’d lost.
But there were some who did. This time last year, the then-Cardiff RFC hooker was considered the best player outside of the professional game in Wales and he came with some pretty impressive references.
Welsh legend Gethin Jenkins, who worked with Tomlinson in the Welsh capital, told the Western Mail 12 months ago: “There are no guarantees that he’d be able to do it at regional level but he’s got a lot of the things you need to make it at the top level.
“The main thing is his attitude and his hunger to improve. Plus you have to have that base of fitness and strength to play in the position that he’s in and that’s there.”
Fellow Welsh international Rhys Thomas, who also coached Tomlinson at the Blue and Blacks, agreed.
“He basically behaves like a professional without the facilities or the time,” said the former hooker.
Before the 2018/19 season was over, the Cardiff skipper went on to play his 100th game for the club and guide them to their first National Cup success in 22 years.
Tomlinson was also man of the match in the final against Merthyr at the Principality Stadium.
Regions fluttered their eyelashes but a firm offer never arrived.
“There were always whispers after the final, I’d hear that people were keen for a chat,” Tomlinson tells the Western Mail.
“I had a couple of sniffs from other clubs around the UK, just enquiring about what my future plans were.
“From a semi-professional perspective, I don’t think one could really have done much more.
“But, to be honest, the longer it went on, the more I got sick of it because I was potentially putting my life with my missus on hold to pursue a career in rugby.
“The longer it went on, the more intolerant I would become to people messaging me or just calling to find out what my plans were.
“I wanted something on paper, ready to sign, sooner rather than later.” He was also on the clock. In February 2019, Tomlinson and his girlfriend Lia had their Canadian visa applications accepted, giving them one year to enter the country.
So, the way he saw it, he had two options – fulfil a lifelong ambition of seeing the world or wait for a professional contract that he arguably deserved but may never come.
Eventually, a decision had to be made.
“I had to make the call that unless a contract was put in front of me, that was worth a certain amount of money, then I was going to move to Canada,” he says.
“The Canada visa process is quite a lengthy one. The probability of us both being picked out and accepted is less likely than one might think, but we did.
“I’m fortunate to have a lot of close friends in the rugby world who have been there, done it and achieved things most of us could only dream of.
“I didn’t take the decision lightly, I discussed it with as many people as I could. To be honest, a lot of people were telling me to look at Canada as an opportunity I couldn’t throw away.
“And what would I be throwing it away for? Maybe a contract that was at the lower-end financially and to go into a region as third or fourth choice.
“What is the reality of that situation?”
The 27-year-old had a taste of the academy system as a youngster but fell through the cracks as a teenager.
He did, however, represent the Arms Park’s Premiership outfit for five years and consistently impressed.
Stories of Premiership players, operating outside the academy system, successfully making the step from the semi-professional game up to regional level are now few and far between.
Wales’ professional teams will look more favourably on players already in the academy system when it comes to dishing out elite contracts.
At the end of the day, the regions have already spent years investing resource in the development of their academy players and they want to see a return on that.
“If you’re a player who has never been in the academy and you play in the Premiership, there’s no doubt about it, you have to work harder to get the opportunity to go full-time,” insists Tomlinson.
“But it works two ways. I think a Premiership player would relish that opportunity more because they’ve had to work harder for it.
“I also think not being involved in an academy is beneficial for life after rugby because you get a taste of the real world.
“Sometimes, in my experience, academy players are not attached to the real world.
“I do think that a young academy player learns skills, not just on the field, but off it as well in terms of managing a professional environment. If you come into that environment later on, I think it’s tough to adapt quickly.
“But I also feel that if someone is good enough and makes enough of a mark in the semi-pro world, they will get an opportunity.”
For Tomlinson, the opportunity never came and the decision was taken last May to move to Canada.
He arrived with his partner in September and spent the first month travelling around British Columbia and Alberta, taking in The Rockies before settling in Port Moody, just outside Vancouver.
The team he now represents, Burnaby Lake, set him up with a house and he now works as an account manager for a financial company dealing with heavy machinery.
There was talk of linking up with a Major League Rugby club, but the coronavirus pandemic has put those talks on ice for the time being.
Life, however, sounds pretty good. “We’ve got three local ski mountains that are about 45 minutes away from the house. Whistler is about two hours away. So, we’ve been skiing a lot,” he says.
“There is so much to do in Vancouver, it’s such a big city with hikes all around the outskirts, beaches are nearby.
“The weekends are pretty full with hiking, skiing or going to the beach. “I don’t know what the future holds. “I’m just enjoying my life at the moment, doing things that not many people can say they’ve done.”