Ilnicki gets Premiership league call
Well-travelled Chilcotin Kid heads to England for a chance to play in that country’s top flight
Canadian international prop Jake Ilnicki is adding England to his swollen playing passport.
He’s signed on with the Aviva Premiership’s Northampton Saints through the end of the season.
Once he steps on the field for the Saints’ first team, Ilnicki will be the first Canadian prop to play in England’s top flight since Jon Thiel turned out for the Sale Sharks in the 2000-01 season. Fresh off the plane on Monday, he played for Northampton’s reserve team against the archrival Leicester Tigers.
“It was good! Certainly one way to get over the jet lag,” he messaged The Province afterwards.
In 2016 alone, he played for the Manawatu Turbos in New Zealand and the San Diego Breakers of PRO Rugby in the U.S.
In 2014 and ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, he was with the New South Wales Country Eagles.
That rugby was taking him to all points of the globe was a “perk of the job,” he told The Province in August ahead of his move to New Zealand.
Playing in so many different environments has been nothing but a good thing for him as a rugby player, he said on Monday.
“Each club had their own elements to improving my game over the past couple years,” he said. “I’ve grown a lot as a player since I was in Australia and in the USA. Playing with Manawatu was the real stepping stone for me. I learned a lot playing alongside those guys.
“It all comes down to constantly playing high level rugby and understanding the commitment required to play at that level. I’m definitely ready for this next chapter in my rugby career.”
Ilnicki started at tight head prop for Canada’s last six internationals and solidified a scrum which has been under heavy pressure in recent years.
With his new team dealing with injuries, the opportunity to play for the Premiership squad looks very much in the cards, though Ilnicki’s not counting on anything.
“There have been some injuries in the front row which definitely gives me a pretty good opportunity to earn a spot. Just gonna grind out these next couple weeks and see what happens,” he said.
Originally from Alexis Creek in the Chilcotin, Ilnicki, 24, has played club rugby for the Williams Lake Rustlers, University of Victoria and the Castaway Wanderers in Victoria.