Survival may just convince Omagh’s Kiwi Connor to stay

It’s fair to say that Omagh Accies Energia All-Ireland League 2C campaign hasn’t gone as they had planned or hoped but survival is still more than achievable and should they manage to stay in senior rugby, their Kiwi import Connor Watherston-Spencer may just sign on for a third season.

The 23-year-old was born and raised in Christchurch where he played rugby for Crusaders, who had a former Omagh Academy pupil, Neville Magee, playing for them. And while Magee soon left for home, neither he nor Watherston-Spencer knew they would be linking up once more at Omagh Accies.

Magee was brought into the Thomas Mellon Playing Field, initially as a player-coach by Glenn Kyle, who then signed the young New Zealander, but it was the link with his fellow new arrival that sealed the deal.

“I was looking at playing abroad for development opportunities,” Connor explained.

“I had a couple of opportunities in other countries but an opportunity arose here with Neville Magee being at the club, who I previously played with and knew in Christchurch, so that was very handy.

“The vision was, if anything went wrong I had someone there to help me and the package and the deal that was put in front of me was the best one and I couldn’t really say no to it. And since then I’ve just been trying to make the most of the opportunity. It was good to reunite with [Magee] to have someone there to welcome me in pretty open armed and stuff.

“But the fact we speak the same language was a big reason why I came here. I had two opportunities in Spain, one in Hong Kong and one in Scotland, but the attraction of having someone I knew here was a big factor. Also, we drive on the same side of the road, speak English to a degree – enough to understand people – and it’s very similar to New Zealand helped too.”

After being welcomed by a familiar face to Omagh, Connor settled in relatively quickly to life in Tyrone, but he admits rugby in Ireland proved much different to what he was used to in New Zealand.

“Rugby in Ireland is good, but it’s different from back home. It’s a good learning experience for myself and I’m enjoying it,” he observed.

“I came over with a very open mind. I did a little bit of research on the All-Ireland League set-up and that. I realised it was a tough competition but I just came over here with an open mind and having played rugby in New Zealand for the last 20-odd years I didn’t know what to expect on the other side of the world or with Northern Hemisphere rugby, you could say.

“It was a very open minded trip to start with but it took me a bit by surprise in my first season because I’ve always said the rugby here is just a little bit different in the sense that back home it’s very fast, high-tempo, trying to avoid contact you could say. Whereas over here, it’s very direct, physical and I do say it’s a bit slower, with the utmost respect, but it’s definitely more physical over here.”

During his first season with the Accies, they were involved in a late relegation battle but this term hopes were high to be involved in the fight at the other end of the table.

Unfortunately things haven’t panned out that way but Connor remains hopeful that a return to form at the business end of the season can help propel them to safety and maybe even lead to him extending his stay in Omagh.

“I enjoyed [my first season] and the opportunity to stay for the second year was tough to turn down and I also missed most of the pre-season in my first year, so I wanted to get a good pre-season in and have a good season,” he explained.

“Unfortunately we’re not having that at the moment, but there is still time.

“As you’ve probably seen from some of the results this year, there have been so many games that have been close and we’ve just come out on the wrong side of it.

“It’s one of those seasons that we wish hadn’t happened but it has and we have [three games at the time of writing] to change it.”

After decent performances in defeat against relegation rivals Bruff and in a draw at promotion favourites Midleton, before winning against Belfast Harlequins last time out, Connor believes confidence is returning to the Accies ranks at a key time, which could help the outhalf decide his next move.

“I’d say it’s getting there slowly. We were very disappointed in that Bruff game,” he acknowledged.

“As you could probably tell, to come away with a loss after playing so well and to go down to Midleton and back it up was pleasing. It was probably as good a result as you can get down there.

“If we can stay up, it could potentially persuade me to stay for another season. I have a visa until October, so there is potentially the opportunity to extend it for a little bit longer but I’m a guy who takes his life day by day. I don’t really plan eight months down the track, I can’t really plan that far ahead.

“I don’t really have [any concrete plans for the future]. I’m only young, you could probably say. I’m looking at doing a bit of travel and stuff in the summer and that, so I’ll just take it day by day.”

Now in his second year in Omagh and considering a third is some change for Connor, who admits he hadn’t even heard of Tyrone’s County Town before he agreed to move across the world and sign for their rugby club.

But he’s glad to have taken the leap and he admits he’s enjoyed his time in Ireland and living in a rural setting like the one he experienced growing up in New Zealand.

“I’ve been here for two seasons now. I guess it’s pretty similar to back home and where I grew up. I come from a country kind of set-up so living here is not that much different for me,” he explained

“But I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of Omagh before this opportunity came up. I did a little bit of research and I knew it wasn’t going to be a big city like Belfast or Dublin, but both my parents came from a farming background.

“I was born in Christchurch but my mum is from a North Otago town called Kurow, which famously is where Richie McCaw is from and my dad was born and raised in Hawkes Bay in the North Island, so I had the best of both worlds growing up from their farming backgrounds as well as living in the city.

“So I wasn’t too shocked when I came here and it wasn’t a big city or a big town. I don’t mind it.

“[And while the lifestyle] over here is different, and the culture – I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve loved it. I’ve been here for two years now, so I’ve enjoyed it. The people here are amazing, the culture is amazing, the lifestyle is pretty cruisy and that’s the kind of guy I am, I’m pretty laid back, so there’s not too many complaints here.”

Well, there’s maybe one complaint – our accent, which Connor admits still gives him issues from time to time!

“I won’t lie, but I still struggle with some people even after being here for almost two years!,” he laughed.

“Definitely the first couple of months were very challenging and there were a lot of yes or no answers from myself because that’s all I could kind of put together but it’s good. Once you’re here for a while you pick up on the terminology and the slang.

“It’s not as bad as it was but I still have the odd challenging encounter that leaves me sitting there confused.”