One of the best pieces of advice an aspiring rugby player can get is to never be satisfied.
Achieve a goal? Find a new one.
That’s really how Kyle Renner has approached his rugby journey.
Having made a PR7s roster in 2023 with the Rocky Mountain Experts, Renner had, in a sense, arrived. Now he re-set his goals, and that’s why, despite being a PR7s veteran, he returned to the ID Trial in Kansas City last month.
Well, that and it was in his backyard. “It was a 10-minute drive from my house,” Renner said. “So it was easy to be there. But really the thing is I didn’t feel like I’d done enough to count on an automatic re-sign. So I wanted to keep my name on the radar and show I had made some improvements.”
PR7s is an excellent option for Renner as he looks to play higher-level rugby. A Kansas City resident, where he’s a personal trainer in his daily life, Renner plays with the Kansas City Blues but still likes the idea of challenging himself in the professional arena.
“PR7s is perfect for me; I can be here in Kansas City and still play at a very high level,” explained Renner.
So there he was, having played in PR7s already but feeling he needed to be seen more, Renner got to work.
“I worked a lot on my fitness,” he said. “It was a lot of bike work and road work. There is also a pretty good touch-rugby scene in Kansas City so there’s always a game going on and I can keep that game-movement and ball-in-hand kind of fitness. When I was with the Experts I didn’t get a lot of playing time and improving my fitness and developing my skills were really important.”
Once he arrived at the Trial, Renner chipped in to help with the youth camp and then also helped the newer players understand what was required.
“It was a really good camp,” enthused Renner. “Iowa Central [Community College] brought almost their whole squad so we had a lot of players and talent. We had guys from KC RFC and Kansas City Blues. But the thing was we didn’t have a lot of egos. No one was looking to show off; we were all working to help everyone play better. That’s how it is one PR7s team, so it was good to see.”
Putting aside ego is why Kyle Renner returned to the tryout even though he could have expected a return callup. It’s that attitude that will be the reason he returns to PR7s in 2024.
