A Life in Rugby: An Interview With Phillip Thiel

Phillip Thiel grew up in northern Michigan and graduated from Traverse City West Senior High School. He played rugby for the first time his senior year (for Traverse City Alliance) and today he plays at the sport’s top level. He now lives in Atlanta and is a member of the Eagles, the U.S. World Cup rugby team. The 30-year-old is in England for the tournament and answered questions from the Express via email.

Northern Express: How are the U.S. team’s chances in this year’s World Cup?

Phil Thiel: Well, we’re here to compete, to put ourselves in positions to win games and to play up to our potential. We feel if we do that we have a good chance to win games. We lost our first one to Samoa, which was tough, but we’re looking to bounce back this week against a very solid Scotland team. (Team USA lost that match on Sept. 27).

Express: Is rugby as brutal as it’s reputed to be?

Thiel: There is definitely a physically demanding component to rugby. We get the, “Oh, you guys must be tough” thing a lot, but to be honest, it’s more about mental toughness, the ability to make decisions and execute skills under fatigue that make a good rugby player.

Express: You’ve played rugby at a professional level, but it sounds like you play for love of the sport, not for the money.

Thiel: I think that all the guys I’ve known have played rugby for the love of it and, if money came, they were happy to make that their career. Some guys have the good fortune, and work hard, to make rugby their career, some of us don’t get that opportunity. Either way, we’re all playing for the love of the game at the end of the day.

Express: Rugby is one of those sports that’s popular in some countries and gets attention in newspapers and television, but in the U.S. it just doesn’t register. Does that frustrate you?

Thiel: Well, the Rugby World Cup is essentially the third largest sporting event in the world, so it’s nice when we travel to countries that love rugby. It’s not really frustrating that it isn’t big in the U.S. yet. I mean, I never even knew what rugby was until I was 18, and now I’ve spent nearly a third of my life playing. It’s an area where we have a major opportunity for growth; it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the country and it’s on the right path.

Express: Your life changed course after the 2011 World Cup. What did you do when you left rugby for a couple of years?

Thiel: Well, I got pretty fat. I ate a lot of pizza, played with my daughter, and I worked for a small software company called Somax. They treated me well and gave me lots of leeway when I started back into rugby. When the rugby travel schedule became too hectic, I had to make a choice whether to stay working or go back to rugby, and, as with most of us, rugby always seems to win.

Express: Tell us about the team you play for in Atlanta.

Thiel: I have played for Life Rugby at Life University (there’s a collegiate and a men’s team affiliated with the school) since 2007. They have a great program down there with Athletic Director, and former Director of Rugby, Dan Payne. It’s one of the closest things to a professional environment you’re going to get in collegiate and club rugby in the States and they churn out solid teams year after year.

Express: Do you return to Traverse City much?

Thiel: My family has Christmas in July every year, so I usually get back once annually.

I’d love to come back more, but with rugby and my fiancé owning a neurofeedback office called BrainCore Marietta (shameless plug, I know), we don’t get a lot of time to travel home. There is definitely nothing like a northern Michigan summer though!

Express: Would you encourage your daughter to play rugby when she gets to high school?

Thiel: I’m divided on whether I would encourage her to play, to be honest. If she wants to play, or play any other physical sport, I’ll definitely support her. I suppose I would love her to pursue arts, politics and the sciences, but hey, if she wants to do that and throw her shoulders around on the pitch, I’m behind her 100 percent!

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