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For a brief period Ross Neal was living out his rugby dreams. Plucked from the second tier of English rugby and given a shot by Wasps, the club he supported as a boy.



Christian Wade's departure to pursue the American dream opened a pathway to the first team the towering centre-turned-winger took with both hands, scoring Premiership and European tries in the closing months of 2018. Fast forward a little over 12 months, it's Neal's turn to be heading Stateside. There's no change of sport this time, however, but a shot at regular action with Major League Rugby side Seattle Seawolves.



"It was a risk worth taking," said the 24-year-old. "It's a good chance go see a bit of the world and playing different leagues is always good for us the development and the alternative was seven months holding a tackle bag. Maybe getting a shot at a game, maybe not."



It was following his final day at Wasps when I caught a few moments with the near two-metre tall back. My first engagement with the former London Irish player was when he was the only senior player to turn down a week off in favour of getting game time in a youthful Wasps squad defeated by Gloucester in the Premiership Cup at Kingsholm in October 2018.



That decision paid off. The 17-stone back played in seven more senior games before the end of the year. Appearances against superpowers Saracens and Toulouse were ticked off.

I didn't take my chance





"When I came here from London Scottish, I had a pretty poor rugby CV," said Neal. "I hadn't done much from what I was visualised as a young player. I've come here and I'm leaving with Champions Cup tries, Premiership tries and play for the club I used to support when I was younger."



But it wasn't enough to fulfil him. A breakthrough 2018 was followed by a stuttering 2019. Just three more senior appearances followed before the summer break and just one further appearance this term.





Elliot Daly, one of his rivals for his preferred number 13 shirt had moved on, but the competition remained fierce as World Cup winner Malakai Fekitoa pitched up at Wasps' Broadstreet RFC base.



"When you're not a main player, you may get one chance to show what I can do. My chance this year was against Saracens," said Neal, reflecting on the Premiership Cup game Wasps lost 50-28. "We didn't play very well and I didn't play very well. I guess for the coaches, it was case of next chance will come but you've got to wait. I didn't take my chance, last year I took it against Bristol, and I worked really hard for it.



"Last year, when I wasn't playing, felt different to this year."

Wasting your time



Between his first and second seasons at Wasps, Neal had witnessed the ultimate sporting example of a professional sportsman taking his chance. He was at Madison Square Garden to witness outsider David Ruiz Jnr shock the boxing world by defeating Britain's Anthony Joshua. The land of opportunity delivering on its words.



It was while he was across the pond that talk of the fledgling Major League Rugby whet Neal's appetite. The prospect was now whirring away quietly in the back of his mind.



"I was like, if this next year starts the same way by about December I want to go, the writing would probably be on the wall then anyway," he explained.



"If you're not playing you feel a bit useless that you feel a bit like you're wasting your time. And that's not reflection on Wasps, that's all clubs where you've got players like that. I felt I was probably about two, three injuries away in each position that I play from playing and I was like, I can wait around, but you're not going to get signed by anyone else. You don't want to get re-signed if you're not playing, you don't get fulfilled.



"Some players can just keep that going, no matter what, it's just the way they are."

(Image: Richard Lane Photography)





Even when he was running in tries against Bristol Bears and knocking would-be-tacklers down for fun with his powerful running, Neal concedes his mindset wasn't right. Something he has pledged to learn from.



"I had that long run of games and thought I've done really well and but even then, I was under lot pressure, if I make too many mistakes, I'll be out which was the case," said Neal. "I guess that's a lesson for me about mental attitude. You can't go out thinking 'if I make a mistake, I'll be dropped', then what you end up doing is just that. It didn't feel the same it didn't feel like the opportunity was around the corner.



He continued: "I'd had chats with Dai [Young, Wasps director of rugby] and I said to my agent I'm not sure how close I am here. I did mention it pre-season, it will be something I'll be looking to do if nothing was coming up. And then three days later, he came back with an offer in Seattle."

One day to decide





The exciting back-up plan that had been bubbling away was now a reality. However, there was no waiting until the end of the season, no long goodbye. Seattle Seawolves' Major League Rugby campaign gets underway in February, with preparations already underway and warm-up games ahead this month.



"I had a day to think about it," he said. "That was the Wednesday, on the Thursday I would have to ask Dai as they were travelling to Bordeaux the next day and I had to sign on that Friday.





"I literally had one day to decide, one day to ask. Asking your DOR to leave, it's not an envious task. I had to make that decision, talk to my family, weigh it all up, write it all down. I made my decision, I spoke to Dai and he couldn't have been better with it to be honest.



"He said, 'look, I'd rather you say, you give us good depth, but equally we can't promise you game time'. He said, 'look, I've got sons I understand what it's like this is opportunity if you want to take it I'll let you'.



"My family were all behind me, all the players here were really positive, saying they're sad to see me go but buzzing for you to get the opportunity. I saw one comment when I said I was going, being like, 'oh why do all these players want to leave?' It's nothing to do with that whatsoever. I've actually loved my time here. I'm genuinely sad to be gone, but it's one of those ones where I could do seven months holding a tackle bag or go and get that opportunity."

New Wasps tradition

Respectfully, Neal's departure does not leave too sizeable a hole in the Wasps' squad. Even former Springbok centre Juan de Jongh is struggling for game time and Neal himself referred to Academy graduate Sam Spink as a 'class' player who will 'become a regular Premiership player within two years'. There's also three new wingers in the squad this season in the form of Zach Kibirige, Paolo Odogwu and another Academy graduate, Callum Sirker.



But you sense his departure will be more keenly felt in the day-to-day activities at the club. Neal has a voice and a personality as imposing as his 196cm frame.





"We do something called 'Any Other Business'," he said. "We do a bit of the start of every Monday meeting, no matter what the score is where we talk about birthdays, landmarks in players' careers, things that are going on, someone has passed their driving test, graduated from this, make a little joke. And that's something that myself and Rob Miller have brought in. Maybe in 20 years, they'll still be doing it, these things start somewhere."

Being a rugby player isn't enough





As you read this, Neal is already in Seattle, getting to know his new team-mates that include 36-year-old Argentinian Juan Manuel Leguizamón. His first chance to shine at his new club is on Thursday, January 16 when the Seawolves host Canadian visitors Crimson Tide of Vancouver Island to the 4,500 capacity Starfire Sports Complex for an 'exhibition' match.



It's the start of a new chapter in his rugby career, and an opportunity he couldn't pass up.





"It's not a decision I take lightly and I am not being stroppy, like they're not playing me I am off to America," he joked.



"I'm looking at situation thinking, what's the best thing that I can do here for my life and everything? I think if I didn't go I'd always think maybe I should have gone to America. I may stay out there, I may not, not I don't know. But it's very exciting."



He added: "I've always been a big believer that you know, just being a rugby player isn't enough. I wouldn't want to be someone content to be at Premiership club just to be at a Premiership club. I'm going to be happier going and enjoying something new, it's something that I want to do."