JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, John Poland was a travelling reserve for Munster’s visit to the Ospreys in the URC.
Now, he’s four months into a new chapter living, working, and playing rugby in Sydney.
As the 29-year-old scrum-half sits in a café overlooking the famous Bondi Beach, he smiles and shakes his head, recounting how that final experience with his native province popped up out of nowhere.
The Cork man played for Munster once back in 2018 but left the province that summer and has since starred for the New England Free Jacks in America, helping the club to three Major League Rugby titles. He also had a stint with Manawatu in New Zealand.
Poland was asked to come back into Munster early last season when they had injuries at scrum-half, and played for the province’s A team, as well as being a reserve for a URC game against Connacht in October and the friendly against Argentina XV in November.
He thought his last spell with Munster had ended there, but then he got another unexpected shout in December.
“I wasn’t even training with them at this point,” says Poland. “I got a call on the Friday. I just showed up for the match, and suddenly I was doing the warm-up in Bridgend.
“In work on the Monday, they were like, ‘What were you up to for the weekend?’ I was like, ‘Oh, I was just in Bridgend.’”
It didn’t lead to a long-term contract offer, but Poland enjoyed being back among a squad that includes some of his friends.
He grew up dreaming about playing for Munster. It was the driving force in his life as he rose through the ranks at PBC and played for the Ireland U20s.
But ultimately, it wasn’t to be for Poland with Munster. He was dealt the heartbreak of missing out on an academy deal at one stage, then twice returned to the province after Anthony Foley and then Rassie Erasmus called on him, only for both of those spells to end in further disappointment. The peaks and troughs of it all were tough. It hurt.
As he reflects on his experiences four months into his new life in Sydney, where he and his wife Sophie moved in February, Poland is open and honest about how it took him some time to discover his identity without it revolving around rugby.
But he’s in a happy place. Poland has been playing rugby with the Southern Districts club in the Shute Shield, a high level of rugby which features plenty of top-class players, but is currently sidelined due to injury. He is also working as an accountant for the Sydney Roosters, one of the big rugby league teams.
Rugby now serves Poland rather than the other way around. Having spent much of his youth dealing with the harsh reality of professional rugby, he now has a positive perspective on the game.
Poland at Munster training in January. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“When I first went to America in 2019, I was just trying to re-find my feet,” says Poland.
“I was on the precipice of just calling it a day and playing club rugby, or just moving somewhere like Sydney or London for work. I was kind of over the whole rugby thing, so it was a nice breath of fresh air.
“I could actually enjoy rugby again. It’s not your whole identity.”
He ended up having six seasons with the Free Jacks, who are based in Boston.
Poland was still a professional rugby player, although the shorter Major League Rugby campaigns meant being there for eight months of each year, then having four months to fill.
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Poland regularly played in the Rugby Tens championship during that window, but he also returned to Ireland and did short-term work, as well as featuring in the AIL on occasion. He first came through in Sundays Well but later played for Cork Con and UCC, as well as having a delightful spell with Young Munster in Limerick.
And while Poland initially hoped that he might earn a contract with one of the Irish provinces by excelling for the Free Jacks, he also just enjoyed the experience for what it was.
“It was unreal,” says Poland, who loved going into the city in Boston to do things like watch the Red Sox play baseball.
“I was unbelievably lucky. I got to go to America for six years and see the good side of it.
“There’s lots of guys who go through those experiences in rugby and then don’t get anything from the game, pack it in and go working. That transition is probably just brutal.”
The highlight was 2023 when Poland was pivotal to the Free Jacks winning their first MLR title. He then picked up a contract with the Manawatu Turbos for the National Provincial Championship in New Zealand.
He featured in a team that included former All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder, with one of the highlights being a visit to Eden Park to take on an Auckland side that included Akira Ioana, Angus Ta’avao, and Salesi Rayasi.
What he loved most about playing in New Zealand was their mindset.
“It’s all about doing positive things as opposed to making mistakes,” he explains.
“If you made two mistakes but set up a try, they’d be like erring on the side of, ‘Oh look, that was positive’ as opposed to, ‘Oh, but he made two mistakes.’
“It’s funny because as an Irish person, it’s ingrained into you – don’t make mistakes.
“Then you’re in New Zealand and the Fijian winger is class but he just ran into touch twice, and you’re just like, ‘Does he not see the impact of that?
“But the New Zealanders are looking at it through the lens of, ‘We could turn over the ball in two phases and score a try.’ It’s more optimistic.”
Poland playing for the Ireland Club XV in 2019. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
The year ended with a trip around New Zealand and getting engaged that Christmas.
“2023 was a big, big year,” says Poland with a smile.
Towards the end of his time in America, things were more challenging. Poland was injured in 2024, missing out on playing in the Free Jacks’ second MLR title run-in, while there was more competition for his place in 2025.
It felt like that chapter was coming to a natural end for him and Sophie. She had initially stayed at home in Belfast working but later moved over to live in Boston too. Getting visas was difficult, and they decided to finish up in the US last year.
Poland’s sister was already living in Sydney, as were some of his cousins and friends, as well as two of Sophie’s bridesmaids. It was clear that there was good rugby in the Shute Shield too, so Sydney had plenty of draw.
First, they had their wedding in Portugal in October to prepare for, but when they got back to Ireland last summer, Munster gave Poland the surprise invite to join them on a part-time basis.
“It was kind of full circle in a weird way because it was all the lads that were still there, like Jack O’Donoghue, John Ryan, Shane Daly, my friends that were still there,” says Poland.
“I hadn’t seen some of the lads in five years. It was like, ‘Alright, lads, what’s the craic?’ They’re all like, What the f*ck are you doing here?’
“I enjoyed it. I definitely tried to keep my expectations realistic going in. When I was younger and I left, I was distraught. My idea of playing for Munster in Ireland was gone.
“It was my identity and it was hard to separate myself from that, but by the time I went back in, it was so different. I’d gone away for a few years. I’d definitely got my identity back outside of rugby.
“I had a lot of like experiences and seen a lot of the world. Rugby’s class, but it’s not everything to me. I have a lot of other things in my life.”
Of course, the natural competitor in Poland loved being back in the mix and showing himself that he could still operate at the level required at a club like Munster.
But he and Sophie were excited to get on with their new adventure in Sydney.
Having studied finance at UCC, Poland landed a job as an accountant with the Roosters, who have won 15 NRL titles.
Sydney is a rugby league city, with nine of the 17 NRL clubs based in the area, and the Roosters are one of the big dogs. Former Leinster and Wallabies boss Michael Cheika is now among the Rooster’s assistant coaches.
Poland in Munster colours in 2018. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
The club is based at Allianz Stadium, where Ireland play the Wallabies next weekend, and Poland loves how connected the whole organisation is. Whereas many of Munster’s administrative staff work in Cork and the rugby set-up is in Limerick, everyone at the Roosters is in the same building.
“In the stadium, you have the offices on one side, and then the gym and all that on the other side, but the canteen is in the middle where everyone has lunch,” explanis Poland.
“So the players are around all the time to chat away. They’re sound out, and Trent Robinson [the head coach] and Michael Cheika are very open and chatty. They know everyone in the office, it’s cool.”
Sophie has a job in marketing, so she has found her feet quickly in Sydney too. They live close to Bondi Beach, and there are always plenty of familiar accents around the place.
“I’m trying to learn to surf at the moment, and I was out there in the water on Monday, and I randomly met Sean McCarthy, who used to play in the second row for Munster,” says Poland. “We were chatting away for 10 minutes.”
McCarthy isn’t playing rugby anymore, but Poland has brought his skills to the Shute Shield, where there are several Irish players.
Indeed, Poland was recently speaking to Andrew Smith, who left Munster at the end of the season and is now hoping to join a club in Sydney.
The rugby in Sydney is free-flowing, with most teams focusing heavily on attacking with ball in hand. Poland has found the players to be very athletic, with some of them dropping back from Super Rugby and others aspiring to that level.
He had interest from several clubs and isn’t sure yet what he will be doing next year. He and Sophie are on two-year visas for starters, but they’re loving Sydney so far.
Poland expects that rugby will continue to play a big part in his life, but it’s not his whole life anymore.
“It’s something that if it works out, it works out.Do you know that kind of way?
“If I start 18 games for a club, great, or if I play four games and I’m happy off doing other things, great.
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'Going back in to Munster was full circle in a weird way. I enjoyed it'
JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, John Poland was a travelling reserve for Munster’s visit to the Ospreys in the URC.
Now, he’s four months into a new chapter living, working, and playing rugby in Sydney.
As the 29-year-old scrum-half sits in a café overlooking the famous Bondi Beach, he smiles and shakes his head, recounting how that final experience with his native province popped up out of nowhere.
The Cork man played for Munster once back in 2018 but left the province that summer and has since starred for the New England Free Jacks in America, helping the club to three Major League Rugby titles. He also had a stint with Manawatu in New Zealand.
Poland was asked to come back into Munster early last season when they had injuries at scrum-half, and played for the province’s A team, as well as being a reserve for a URC game against Connacht in October and the friendly against Argentina XV in November.
He thought his last spell with Munster had ended there, but then he got another unexpected shout in December.
“I wasn’t even training with them at this point,” says Poland. “I got a call on the Friday. I just showed up for the match, and suddenly I was doing the warm-up in Bridgend.
“In work on the Monday, they were like, ‘What were you up to for the weekend?’ I was like, ‘Oh, I was just in Bridgend.’”
It didn’t lead to a long-term contract offer, but Poland enjoyed being back among a squad that includes some of his friends.
He grew up dreaming about playing for Munster. It was the driving force in his life as he rose through the ranks at PBC and played for the Ireland U20s.
But ultimately, it wasn’t to be for Poland with Munster. He was dealt the heartbreak of missing out on an academy deal at one stage, then twice returned to the province after Anthony Foley and then Rassie Erasmus called on him, only for both of those spells to end in further disappointment. The peaks and troughs of it all were tough. It hurt.
As he reflects on his experiences four months into his new life in Sydney, where he and his wife Sophie moved in February, Poland is open and honest about how it took him some time to discover his identity without it revolving around rugby.
But he’s in a happy place. Poland has been playing rugby with the Southern Districts club in the Shute Shield, a high level of rugby which features plenty of top-class players, but is currently sidelined due to injury. He is also working as an accountant for the Sydney Roosters, one of the big rugby league teams.
Rugby now serves Poland rather than the other way around. Having spent much of his youth dealing with the harsh reality of professional rugby, he now has a positive perspective on the game.
“When I first went to America in 2019, I was just trying to re-find my feet,” says Poland.
“I was on the precipice of just calling it a day and playing club rugby, or just moving somewhere like Sydney or London for work. I was kind of over the whole rugby thing, so it was a nice breath of fresh air.
“I could actually enjoy rugby again. It’s not your whole identity.”
He ended up having six seasons with the Free Jacks, who are based in Boston.
Poland was still a professional rugby player, although the shorter Major League Rugby campaigns meant being there for eight months of each year, then having four months to fill.
Poland regularly played in the Rugby Tens championship during that window, but he also returned to Ireland and did short-term work, as well as featuring in the AIL on occasion. He first came through in Sundays Well but later played for Cork Con and UCC, as well as having a delightful spell with Young Munster in Limerick.
And while Poland initially hoped that he might earn a contract with one of the Irish provinces by excelling for the Free Jacks, he also just enjoyed the experience for what it was.
“It was unreal,” says Poland, who loved going into the city in Boston to do things like watch the Red Sox play baseball.
“I was unbelievably lucky. I got to go to America for six years and see the good side of it.
“There’s lots of guys who go through those experiences in rugby and then don’t get anything from the game, pack it in and go working. That transition is probably just brutal.”
The highlight was 2023 when Poland was pivotal to the Free Jacks winning their first MLR title. He then picked up a contract with the Manawatu Turbos for the National Provincial Championship in New Zealand.
He featured in a team that included former All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder, with one of the highlights being a visit to Eden Park to take on an Auckland side that included Akira Ioana, Angus Ta’avao, and Salesi Rayasi.
What he loved most about playing in New Zealand was their mindset.
“It’s all about doing positive things as opposed to making mistakes,” he explains.
“If you made two mistakes but set up a try, they’d be like erring on the side of, ‘Oh look, that was positive’ as opposed to, ‘Oh, but he made two mistakes.’
“It’s funny because as an Irish person, it’s ingrained into you – don’t make mistakes.
“Then you’re in New Zealand and the Fijian winger is class but he just ran into touch twice, and you’re just like, ‘Does he not see the impact of that?
“But the New Zealanders are looking at it through the lens of, ‘We could turn over the ball in two phases and score a try.’ It’s more optimistic.”
The year ended with a trip around New Zealand and getting engaged that Christmas.
“2023 was a big, big year,” says Poland with a smile.
Towards the end of his time in America, things were more challenging. Poland was injured in 2024, missing out on playing in the Free Jacks’ second MLR title run-in, while there was more competition for his place in 2025.
It felt like that chapter was coming to a natural end for him and Sophie. She had initially stayed at home in Belfast working but later moved over to live in Boston too. Getting visas was difficult, and they decided to finish up in the US last year.
Poland’s sister was already living in Sydney, as were some of his cousins and friends, as well as two of Sophie’s bridesmaids. It was clear that there was good rugby in the Shute Shield too, so Sydney had plenty of draw.
First, they had their wedding in Portugal in October to prepare for, but when they got back to Ireland last summer, Munster gave Poland the surprise invite to join them on a part-time basis.
“It was kind of full circle in a weird way because it was all the lads that were still there, like Jack O’Donoghue, John Ryan, Shane Daly, my friends that were still there,” says Poland.
“I hadn’t seen some of the lads in five years. It was like, ‘Alright, lads, what’s the craic?’ They’re all like, What the f*ck are you doing here?’
“I enjoyed it. I definitely tried to keep my expectations realistic going in. When I was younger and I left, I was distraught. My idea of playing for Munster in Ireland was gone.
“It was my identity and it was hard to separate myself from that, but by the time I went back in, it was so different. I’d gone away for a few years. I’d definitely got my identity back outside of rugby.
“I had a lot of like experiences and seen a lot of the world. Rugby’s class, but it’s not everything to me. I have a lot of other things in my life.”
Of course, the natural competitor in Poland loved being back in the mix and showing himself that he could still operate at the level required at a club like Munster.
But he and Sophie were excited to get on with their new adventure in Sydney.
Having studied finance at UCC, Poland landed a job as an accountant with the Roosters, who have won 15 NRL titles.
Sydney is a rugby league city, with nine of the 17 NRL clubs based in the area, and the Roosters are one of the big dogs. Former Leinster and Wallabies boss Michael Cheika is now among the Rooster’s assistant coaches.
The club is based at Allianz Stadium, where Ireland play the Wallabies next weekend, and Poland loves how connected the whole organisation is. Whereas many of Munster’s administrative staff work in Cork and the rugby set-up is in Limerick, everyone at the Roosters is in the same building.
“In the stadium, you have the offices on one side, and then the gym and all that on the other side, but the canteen is in the middle where everyone has lunch,” explanis Poland.
“So the players are around all the time to chat away. They’re sound out, and Trent Robinson [the head coach] and Michael Cheika are very open and chatty. They know everyone in the office, it’s cool.”
Sophie has a job in marketing, so she has found her feet quickly in Sydney too. They live close to Bondi Beach, and there are always plenty of familiar accents around the place.
“I’m trying to learn to surf at the moment, and I was out there in the water on Monday, and I randomly met Sean McCarthy, who used to play in the second row for Munster,” says Poland. “We were chatting away for 10 minutes.”
McCarthy isn’t playing rugby anymore, but Poland has brought his skills to the Shute Shield, where there are several Irish players.
Indeed, Poland was recently speaking to Andrew Smith, who left Munster at the end of the season and is now hoping to join a club in Sydney.
The rugby in Sydney is free-flowing, with most teams focusing heavily on attacking with ball in hand. Poland has found the players to be very athletic, with some of them dropping back from Super Rugby and others aspiring to that level.
He had interest from several clubs and isn’t sure yet what he will be doing next year. He and Sophie are on two-year visas for starters, but they’re loving Sydney so far.
Poland expects that rugby will continue to play a big part in his life, but it’s not his whole life anymore.
“It’s something that if it works out, it works out. Do you know that kind of way?
“If I start 18 games for a club, great, or if I play four games and I’m happy off doing other things, great.
“It’s a lovely place to be.”
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bondi Irish Abroad john poland Munster Shute Shield Sydney