Kim Semiglia has already enjoyed a successful rugby career and is best known for her prevalent role in elevating Life University to top DI Elite status. The Miami native has taken advantage of next-level rugby opportunities, ranging from Stars tours, to Collegiate All-Americans and USA 7s camps, to a WPL season with the Atlanta Harlequins. So it comes as no surprise that Semiglia is now in Australia, immersing herself in a rugby-obsessed country.
After graduating Life University in spring 2017, Semiglia wanted to remain in a high performance environment and looked toward the established rugby countries. She’s specializing in 7s, and so Australia was immediately attractive not only for the sport’s popularity but for the number of opportunities to play.
“I just wanted to go overseas; however, I didn’t think I could realistically afford it,” Semiglia recalled. “That’s when I found out about the Working Holiday visa. Americans have a handful of choices for working holiday destinations and luckily two of them are Australia and New Zealand – two rugby powerhouses.”
Semiglia with Life vs. Penn State / Photo: KJ Feury
Today, Semiglia works for a travel company that sells Working Holiday packages to Americans heading to Australia.
“One thing I’ve come to notice is that hardly any Americans know about this opportunity. I was one of them for sure,” added Semiglia, who noted that she’s encountered fewer than five Americans while abroad. “Most people don’t realize that Australia is very affordable – in fact minimum wage is $18.29 AUD over here. … The opportunity to grow rugby skills abroad in Australia and New Zealand is very affordable and within anyone’s financial situation.”
Semiglia (kneeling, far right) with Stars at Central Coast 7s
Semiglia joined the Stars for the Central Coast 7s in late October 2017 and spent those first two months in Sydney before moving to the Gold Coast, where she now trains with Bond University. But due to some nuances of the Working Holiday visa, her time on the pitch is being cut short.
“Americans have to do 88 days of certain work in northern Australia, where there’s currently no Uni 7s team. It’s best to get that done between late November and March because those are probably the quietest months of rugby,” Semiglia explained. “Sadly, I have to leave and miss out on four months of awesome Bond training to go do my 88 days soon.”
Charlotte Caslick and Semiglia
But her time with Bond University has been extremely enjoyable thus far. Unlike in the U.S., players do not have to be enrolled at the university to play on its rugby team. Semiglia indicated that Bond reminded her of Life, and that members have access to quality resources like an elite coaching staff, physio, trainer, free high performance gym, presentations on mental toughness and nutrition, and personalized conditioning and weights programs. Practices aren’t mandatory but there’s always a high turnout. That might have something to do with Bond’s head coach, England 7s great Ben Gollings.
“I feel like every practice led by Ben Gollings is the type of rugby clinic people would pay hundreds for – except it’s just a regular practice day for Bond University,” the flyhalf/center enthused.
“I love his theory about the game and the way he sees things,” Semiglia continued. “I feel like I have rugby epiphanies at every practice. Everything he says just makes total sense to me as far as how he explains both mental skills and specific rugby skills. Obviously, as someone who has had so much success with rugby, it’s awesome to be able to hear him talk about the way he would go about certain aspects of rugby. I’m trying to soak it all up. There are many things that he says that I feel instantly boosts my skills without even having to necessarily practice it. He just provides a lot of good mental pointers and quick fixes.”
Semiglia is just enjoying full rugby immersion. The sport is always on t.v. at restaurants and bars, and every day of the week provides a different opportunity to play, from touch, to rugby league, to 7s or 15s.
“In the USA, if you say you play rugby and someone says, ‘Me, too,’ it’s like you’re instant best friends – if you meet outside of a rugby context,” Semiglia drew some comparisons. “In Australia, if you say you play rugby, it’s like, ‘Me, too,’ [and that person] turns around to talk to another person completely unimpressed.”
Semiglia isn’t exactly planning her return to the U.S. just yet, and is considering a second consecutive year in Australia or relocating to New Zealand for even more rugby utopia. But it’s not all dropkicks and daydreams; Semiglia is using the adventure abroad to also hone her professional life.
“I felt that throwing myself into another country was the push I needed to really help me move forward in life,” Semiglia concluded. “I’ve been learning things on the side to eventually start my own business, but I would find myself very distracted with friends and other influences back home. Moving has helped me stay focused and disciplined.”
Semiglia is one of several Americans who has recent ties to Australia. Players like Saskia Morgan and Sydnee Watanabe played for the University of Tasmania, and Abby Gustaitis for the University of Canberra in the Aon Uni 7s last fall. That competition injected Australian national team players into the four-stop 7s series. Then of course there were the Sydney 7s, Brisbane 7s and the Aussie Pearls vs. USA Falcons five-game series in Las Vegas. And now more players are being sponsored for months-long rugby stays Down Under.
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