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Tom Christie is a former Shirley Boys’ High School first XV representative, who debuted for the side as a Year 11 student and went on to play in the Crusaders region secondary schools competition - now the UC Championship - for three seasons. A new member of the Crusaders Academy in 2016, Christie has adopted the academy ethos of developing his skillset on and off the park, by pursuing both his rugby ambitions in Christchurch as well as embarking on a four year engineering degree through the University of Canterbury.

In 2015, during his final year at school, Christie captained Shirley Boys’ through to the final of the UC Championship, a feat they achieved for just the second time in the school’s history. He then went on to be named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools side which travelled to Australia later that year. The promising loose-forward has since joined the Crusaders Academy, and says playing in the schools’ competition has helped him take the next step towards his rugby goals: “The UC Championship teaches you a lot about handling pressure and meeting goals within a competitive team environment. At the Crusaders Academy a lot of that is then tailored to the individual, so you are effectively taking your experiences at school level and building on those to grow your skillset and learn to operate within a professional rugby environment.”

As well as new challenges on the field, Christie has been named as the 2016 recipient of the Infor University Rugby Scholarship, which acknowledges a promising member of the Crusaders Academy and assists that player in pursuing tertiary study at the University of Canterbury. He is hoping to earn a place in a limited entry course at UC next year, which will allow him to specialise in civil engineering. Likewise, having alternated between the six, seven and eight positions during his school rugby days, Christie is now working towards a role as a specialist open side flanker.

Although a huge amount of discipline is required to balance the demands of rugby and academic, Tom believes that the skills he continues to develop with the academy are transferable and benefit his approach to study: “The Crusaders Academy focusses on sculpting individuals into quality people as well as quality rugby players. The skills you develop such as creating a strong work ethic and having a great attitude are applicable elsewhere, so I am able to step away from rugby and apply the same learnings within a study environment. In that respect it’s very easy to make the connection between the two and despite the hard work involved, my study and training commitments actually complement one another.”

Christie typically sets aside time from 8am-5pm Monday to Friday to ensure he is on campus at UC and focussing on his engineering study, around a rugby training schedule which includes early starts two days per week, further training sessions four nights per week after university, and a full game day on Saturday. With academy, club and Canterbury Under 19 rugby duties all to be factored in, Tom acknowledges his schedule is full, but is determined to make the most of his opportunities: “It is busy, but I enjoy what I have set up and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”