Alex Hudson, having finished his degree at university, grabbed the opportunity to play rugby in New Zealand with Sport Lived. Alex was based in Christchurch New Zealand’s second largest city and the largest city on the South Island. Explaining his motivation for choosing Christchurch Alex said: “I specifically wanted to go to Christchurch because of it’s location. So many of my friends told me about how beautiful the South Island was. Christchurch therefore seemed a perfect base from which to explore the South Island and visit places such as Queenstown. It also had an amazing reputation for rugby with the success of the Canterbury Crusaders so it was quite an easy choice!” He’s sure he made the right decision too: “I really enjoyed living in Christchurch – it had everything I needed. I particularly enjoyed living in the city and it was so convenient being able to walk from our apartments to the club in 20 minutes”.
Whilst in Christchurch Alex played for a club who have produced 23 All Blacks including Dan Carter and Aaron Mauger where he played for their second grade senior men’s team. Alex was pleased with the way his game developed during his programme: “As a back, the amount of work we did on creating quick ball in the contact area helped improve this area of my game. It had previously been overlooked since it was deemed more of an area that only forwards had to concentrate on.
Commenting generally on his experience Alex said: “It was hard to say what was the best part of my trip…the rugby itself was awesome and the number of people I met was amazing, the house parties and nights out with the guys were brilliant, and then the various trips I went on left multiple memories. The welcoming nature of both the club and the country as a whole would make me highly likely to return to New Zealand again in the future.“
Skiing in Queenstown
His advice for future Sport Lived participants? “Be as open as possible and be accepting of new ways of thinking, both about the sport itself and the country you are in. The more effort you put into the club you are at the more accepting they will be of you and the more you will enjoy the whole experience. I would also encourage anyone who goes to New Zealand to do some sightseeing because the scenery is spectacular”
