Spanish Rugby Star on What Inspires Him

Oriol RipolOriol Ripol has played rugby for the Northampton Saints and has a history of winning on the field. But don't think you cannot learn from him because you don't play sports! Allow him to demonstrate how you can discover your passion in your own career in his own words.

Rugby is not anywhere as popular as football in Spain. What did people tell you when your friends or classmates learned you were playing rugby? How did you explain why it is a fun and important sport?
At the time I started playing, the sport was really unknown and it was often confused with American football cause of the shape of the ball, so I don't think any of my classmates knew what it was. I kind of liked that it was so unusual. When I explained the difference of the two sports they were often disappointed cause they already had the image of the NFL with all the protections, helmet... They really never understood at the time the great values of this sport, neither did I till I was older.

Why did you want to study in New Zealand? Did anything remarkable happen there for you as a person besides rugby? You said you returned with a stronger passion for rugby the next year. What caused this?
New Zealand was the second choice on the list to be honest with you, my plans were to go to the US to study but my parents thought that I would have a better experience in New Zealand because of my love of the game, as rugby there is like a religion. It turned out to be a crucial decision in my life. Not only did I mature as a person being so far away from home, I also developed my rugby and gained a lot of confidence and experience, on and off the field. I also had the chance to watch the players that I admired, live, in a big stadium, something that I wouldn't have been able to do at home in Barcelona. This is when I decided I would pursue my dream and become a professional rugby player.

How can anyone in any career discover who they are? Just as you moved away to learn about yourself, what should other people do to realize their true dreams or become inspired?
I think you have to follow your blinks (inner instinct) and have the courage to have a go. If it works it works, if it doesn't then something else will always come along, but you won't be asking yourself, "What if?!"
Oriol Ripol
You experienced a disappointment years ago when the funding was cut from your team. How did you believe in yourself? Did you think of giving up? How can anyone who is not a rugby player think positively when bad things happen?
I have never felt like giving up, I was too driven and determined to carry on. The hard part for me was to become a professional rugby player, I wasn't going to give that up just because of a problem that was out of my control. I worked too hard to get there, and I focused on ways to carry on. Somehow I always had this inner strength in me that one way or another I was going to find a way to reach where I wanted to be. The important thing is to learn how to put things behind you. What's in the past you can't do anything about! What you need to focus on is the way forward and how to find a new path towards your goal.

Is there a change when training with the Spanish national team? How were your games and training different than playing with teams such as the Sharks?
Everything was different! The speed and physicality of the game, intensity of training, the size of the stadiums, the number of people watching, the amount of staff surrounding the team, the knowledge of the staff, but most of all is the pressure on the player. It's amateur vs. professionalism. Spain has no rugby culture, and England is the country where rugby was born.

What do you think can be done so rugby becomes more popular in countries like Spain and the United States?
The rugby unions should invest money in promoting the game and its great values. By working on the youth groups they can develop a rugby culture. Good results internationally will lead to media attention, and hopefully increase the awareness and interest amongst people and possible investors. A country like US I believe is a sleeping giant, a wealthy sports mad country with an ability to produce great athletes combined with a passion for contact sport. Maybe it will awake after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio?