Brendan Gallagher’s weekly look at the world of rugby
I CAN’T say I was surprised to learn that Harlequins have offered Poland No.8 and captain Piotr Zeszutek a two- month trial with a view to contemplating a full contract.
The Polish tank, was in eyepopping form for Poland in the European Nations B tournament last season against champions Portugal when I seem to remember tweeting that somebody in the Premiership should take a chance and sign him up.
He reminds me of Poland’s best-known Rugby product, that man mountain of a backrower Gregory Kacala who was at the very heart of the Brive pack that put so much stick about in the first couple of seasons of Heineken Cup rugby.
Kacala – 6ft 4 and 19 stones of muscle – was an extraordinary athlete, a force of nature and rock solid presence up front who these days France would agitate long and hard to introduce a law change to ensure he played for Les Blues.
As it was Kacala was already capped as a teenager by Poland out of the Lechia Gdansk as he took the scenic route to the top. He dipped his toe into French rugby with Olympique Le Creusot and then – in the dyeing days of shamateurism – put in a long stint with Grenoble where he became something of a legend in the French Championship, the ultimate enforcer although such was his presence he rarely resorted to the dark arts. A look was enough.
In an attempt to cash in properly at what seemed like the end of his career, Kacala joined the nascent Paris Saint Germain Rugby League club but then, when he was 30, Union belatedly turned professional and he could finally earn his just rewards. He offered up a tantalising glimpse of what might have been during three phenomenal seasons with Brive where, in a star-studded team, he was the main man.
Later Kacala enjoyed a short spell at Cardiff Blues although by then the body had finally beginning to creak – but heaven knows what he might have achieved if a big French club had taken him under his wing as a teenager.
I’ve got a strong feeling there are plenty more like him where he comes from. For me Poland, hitherto sorely neglected, is a nation that World Rugby should prioritise.
It ticks most of the boxes. They are the toughest of the tough and the nation produce a conveyor belt of superb athletes, not least in the field events. They were on fire at the recent European Athletics Championships in Berlin, dominating all the throws. But the big thing about Poland is that their top sporting talent doesn’t automatically get directed to football.
Poland have a competitive national football side, but the game doesn’t rule domestically like it does in the majority of European nations. They have a decent basketball team but it’s not pre-eminent like other nations such as Serbia and Croatia that have the physical specimens to excel at rugby.
The scariest sports team I ever reported on was the Serbian national basketball team at the Eurobasket Championships in 2009 – to a man they were 6ft 9ins and 19 stone of muscle. Not an ounce of body fat to be seen. And not a smile in sight.
If I was World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper casting around for candidate nations to spread the gospel in a serious way I would give proper consideration to Poland where the game has ticked over quietly for decades without a thought to investment and expansion.
The commercial appeal of China is clear for all but is it really going to happen there? And should the commercial imperative drive everything? It would surely be of much more benefit to World Rugby if three or four more rugby nations of the strength of Georgia could emerge – and which in the long run would be of greater commercial value.
The basics exist in Poland much more than ever they do in China. Ok, it’s totally amateur and low key but they already have a three league national setup incorporating 24 teams including a ten team Premier Division and a place in European Nations 2 to use as a launch pad.
And here’s a final thing. There are currently scores of thousands of first generation Poles going through the British education system after their parent have moved here and some of them are shaping up as very decent rugby players.
They would be eminently eligible to play for Poland and could help bolster and strengthen their playing resources as the national team tried to move forward.
I will make a little prediction now. Given the right encouragement Poland would qualify for a World Cup finals long before China.