Catching up with Kiwi: Brisbane City Captain - Adam Korczyk

NRC is back again for 2018 and as you can expect, Reds Rugby Rules here to give you the latest. Australia’s own National Rugby Championship is an exciting mix of Super Rugby and Club rugby players that often brings games into club territory for fans to enjoy. Last week this kicked off, with Brisbane City playing against the Western Force at the Norths Eagles Rugby Club. It was an exciting game in front of a big home-town crowd. There were plenty of tries, but unfortunately the City Slickers went down 29-47.

When our NRC teams are strong, the Reds are stronger.

In the lead up to their second game against the Fijian Drua, I was lucky to catch up with City captain, Adam Korczyk. It’s the second time we’ve caught up for Reds Rugby Rules and since last years interview, he’s risen through the ranks in the Queensland Reds and seems to be a perfect choice to captain the Slickers this year. (Because his family came from New Zealand, the nickname stuck early on.)

Hey Adam, Thanks for catching up at the start of the season!

That’s alright! Hope they’re good questions. (laughs)

The NRC season is always exciting to me. How many years have you been in this now?

So I’ve been in here for 4 years now. 2014 was the first year of NRC, and I’ve been with Brisbane City the whole time. I played the first game here [at Ballymore] televised, against the Sydney Stars. It was a good game. Obviously I was excited to play against Super Rugby players in the other team and play with players like Liam Gill and Jack Schatz, so it was a good experience. 

Good effort over the weekend, there were some great tries scored.

Yeah there were some good tries scored. We have some great attacking players, some great club guys and experienced guys like Quade and Karmichael. There’s nothing wrong with our attack, I think just our defence was a bit of an issue against the Force on Sunday.

Are you looking forward to this weekends game in Fiji?

Yeah I am! I actually played in the same place for the Australian school boys actually, against the Fijian Schoolboys, back in 2012. It was quite a tough game. It was very hot, 35 degrees or something, but it was really exciting. People are very nice from what I remember, people are happy and always smiling, that’s what I took from it. So I’m really excited.

How does being captain affect your game?

Obviously, first time being captain, it’s a bit daunting I guess. You’ve got to talk to the ref, which is always interesting… Within training sessions, I guess I’m talking up a bit more.

I’ve been with Brisbane City for four years now, being more of a follower, for a lack of a better word. But I’ve always thought I lead with my actions. So I try and do that, while trying to instill more feedback where I want and share things I’ve picked up from my experience over the years, from Super Rugby aswell.

I’m super-proud to be captain of Brisbane City. I’m trying to get my team back to where we were, back to the top.

When City plays Country on Sunday September 30th, there will be a number of Reds on both sides. What’s it like going up against your team-mates in games like that?

Having a yarn with Adam after the game at Norths

It’s always interesting. Through out the year, you train with them, so you obviously have some friendships there. I guess when it’s on the field and with the rivalry from the last four years and even before NRC began there was the City/Country rivalry… So your alway want to get one up in that game, you always want to bash your mates. It’s always a fun time. And throughout the week there’s always a bit of chat, either around the Reds gym, everyones wearing their City or Country gear, it’s great. It’s great for the NRC and it’s great for Queensland to see the next Reds players.

This is our second sit down chat for Reds Rugby Rules… Last time we sat down, your career highlight was your second ever Reds game, where you scored a try. Have you had another career highlight occur since then?

Well, since there, I’ve played a fair few Reds games and I’ve been involved with the Wallabies squad (aswell). For me, the next thing would be playing with the Wallabies setup [in the trial game last month]. I haven’t got a cap yet, or played again, but that’s still a milestone. But playing in that game would surpass that Reds game.

I loved visiting your club (UQ) a few weeks back, obviously one of the great clubs in Brisbane. What’s your favourite thing about playing for Uni?

The great thing is just grassroots rugby, people just love rugby. Whether it’s Fifth grade, or Reserve grade, or Prem grade, everyone gets around each other. So I think after games, you might have a little bit to drink or something, whether it’s a win, or even a loss, coming back to Uni, it’s always a fun time. There are mates that I’ve played with since the beginning of my career. 

It’s always great coming back… meeting new people as well. You sort try to give feedback and advice to the players that are aspiring to be professional players as well. It’s always a good time.

Thank you for taking time to catch up. Good luck this season. When our NRC teams are strong, the Reds are stronger.

Exactly, yeah. Thank you Tommy. It’s alway good to have a chat with you. I think the boys will be up for it this week. It’ll be a tough game, but the boys will rip in and they’ll be ready for that City/Country game too.