Scott Gale has not given up on reviving his Super Rugby career, uprooting his life to make it back to professional rugby.
Offered a start at the Western Sydney Rams, the scrumhalf found it an opportunity he could not refuse, determined to pursue his dream.
“It was a hard decision to make, but in the end it’s a sacrifice I had to make to get more time on the field,” he said.
“That’s all I want at the moment, is just to keep playing footy and clock up my minutes.”
In a way, Gale’s journey has come full circle – the 21-year-old was born in Sydney into a rugby league family, with his father and uncle having played first grade in Western Sydney in the 1980s.
“I still consider myself a Queenslander, that’s where I grew up. I’ve been up there since I was six,” he said.
His father tried to sway him to follow in his footsteps when he was younger, but Gale was determined to carve out a professional career in rugby.
“He used to be in my ear a bit about switching, but he’s over that now and he just supports me and what I want to do,” he said.
The NRC has been a breeding ground for Super Rugby and Wallabies talent in its first two seasons and Gale said it was the obvious place to push his chances.
“It’s just such a great platform for young guys to make it all the way,” he said.
“The pace of the game is so intense. It’s a real step up from club rugby.
While Super Rugby is the ultimate goal, Gale is simply keen to string together enough game time to show his potential, after a series of hand, nose, knee and ankle injuries.
“Just getting some more minutes and playing some good footy to open some eyes; that’s the plan,” he said.
“There’s so much talent in the competition but it’s just about trying to stand out.”
Despite a winless start to the 2016 season, Gale says the Rams are on the rise, especially with the aid of Muggleton’s defence prowess.
“This is one of the widest competitions we’ve had so far, and it’s still early days, but I think we (the Rams) have a shot at finals,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of great talent in the team, and we’ve been improving every week little by little.
“If you look at the possession in each game, we’ve had the most each week.
“But Muggo (Muggleton) keeps saying it’s about gelling together as a team and really making the most of that possession.”
The Rams have only played one game at home this season but set to host a slew of games in the back end of the season, Gale said they could finish the year with a bang.
“We’ve still got another two to go (home games). So I mean anything could happen really, and we’ve seen that before in this competition,” he said.
Gale continues his campaign with the Rams this weekend as they face off with the UC Vikings on Sunday at 1pm in Canberra.
