An ad on Facebook seeking a development officer has turned into an exciting adventure for a former Gunnedah rugby star.
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James Perrett flew out to the UK this week to take up a development position with Scarborough Rugby Club.
The Gunnedah native has for the past two-and-a-half years been combining his passion for rugby and helping kids develop as the NSW Rugby Union’s North Coast development officer.
“It’s just a great lifestyle. You get to do what you love,” Perrett said.
And now he gets to do that in another country.
Something he’d “always wanted to do” but never thought he’d have the opportunity to, when an ad popped up on Facebook for a rugby club looking for a development officer and player, he thought he had nothing to lose by applying.
So he did, and in a twist of fate one of the first people to see his application was one-time Red Devils prop and Scarborough skipper Matt Jones. Perrett played with him his first year out of uni.
“When I applied I got a call from him the next day.
“He said did you just apply for a job at Scarborough?,” Perrett said.
“He did it (development role) for five years when he was younger.”
The 26-year old couldn’t wait to get over there and will be jumping straight to work.
“I’ll be going into the schools before the season starts to do the hard yards before the season kicks off,” Perrett said.
A winger and fullback predominately during his days with the Red Devils, but more recently incarnated as a five-eighth, Perrett will also strap on the boots.