'Drove about four and a half hours, paid fifty dollars out of my pocket to try out for the team'
Ross Depperschmidt is one of many feel-good stories to have come out of Major League Rugby’s three seasons of rapid success.
He trod the road less travelled on his rise to the professional ranks after first being unaware of what the sport was when he began studying at the University of Alabama in 2012.
Eight years later, Depperschmidt has caps next to his name in America’s top flight of domestic rugby, featuring regularly for NOLA Gold this year before their campaign was cut short.
The centre paid fifty dollars to try out for the New Orleans franchise in August of 2018, temporarily casting aside his master’s degree in engineering to pursue a career in one of the fastest-growing sports in America.
Two months later, he received a phone call that would change his life as he made the decision to sacrifice academic opportunities to pursue professional rugby in the United States.
“I ended up coming down here, drove about four and a half hours, paid fifty dollars out of my pocket to try out for the team,” Depperschmidt said.
“The tryout day, it was pissing down rain and there were puddles all over the field, pretty poor field conditions. There were about forty guys there, all pretty good rugby players or good athletes at least, but I figured that I’d just give it all I’ve got.
“About a month or two after that, I got a call from Taylor Howden who was the Academy coach, a current player at the time.
“It took some contemplating cause I could pursue another career academically with my engineering degree or chase the dream of playing rugby so I decided to go with that and so far it’s working out.”
Depperschmidt grew up in Flower Mound, Texas, playing the more traditional American sports before discovering rugby at the University of Alabama.
While they weren’t regarded as a powerhouse of American collegiate rugby, Alabama offered him what he needed to develop his skillset.
Unlike the more popular American codes, rugby is generally offered as a club sport through universities around the country. This appealed to Depperschmidt with everyone playing fully committed to the cause, paying extra on top of tuition to travel and take the field each week.
“You have to be committed because you’re paying out of pocket and you’re dedicating your time. At college you can go party, you can be studying but you’re allocating time every day to go train.
“It’s a cool aspect of it because everybody is there on their own time so you know they want to be there.
“The first taste of the comradery with all the guys at any level, it’s an awesome feeling to have 15 guys on a field working together towards one common goal. That really appealed to me personally. I’ve been a massive competitor my whole life, so they offered that opportunity for me at school.”
Depperschmidt finished graduate school in Spring of 2018 before moving to a small town in New Zealand to play rugby and travel ahead of a career in what was looking like engineering.
After playing a club rugby season while in Matamata, he returned to the United States with an opportunity to take his game to the next level.
“I wanted to go over there, I wanted to travel. I figured it was the last time before I started working a big boy job that I’d be able to explore a little bit and play some footy over there.
“Went over there for about four months and played a season over there, came back in August of 2018 and the coach of the USA South team hinted that I should go and do this tryout in New Orleans for NOLA Gold.”
After being selected for the NOLA Academy, the midfielder spent a season learning, practicing and playing, while training alongside the Major League Rugby squad once a week.
He was one of roughly a dozen players to be participating in the program as they worked tirelessly for higher honours.
“You had limited opportunities where you could be around the guys to still get a feel for the professional atmosphere while also putting in the extra work.
“Came to one full practice a week, tried to get as much information off the top-level guys that we have in the team like Con Foley and Scott Gale, Jean-Pierre Eloff and Carl Meyer.
“Just trying to pick their brains as much as possible because they have a wealth of experience and knowledge of the sport.”
After captaining the NOLA Gold Academy side last year, Depperschmidt was promoted to the first team in late 2019 as a “sign of good faith” from the General Manager.
The 26-year-old went on to feature in all but one of NOLA’s five matches in 2020, before the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Every day love being around the boys and it’s really just strictly love of the game and love of competition. I can work a nine to five job when I hit 35-40 years old.
“I know I have a lot more improvement to go, I’m nowhere near where I want to be as a finished product so hopefully it’s the beginning of a good career for me.”
Comments on RugbyPass
True Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
21 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
10 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
78 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
21 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
10 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
21 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
21 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
21 Go to comments