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Ellie Boyce, a 2nd Year Sport Rehabilitation BSc student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham recently completed a work placement opportunity in New Zealand as part of her course. Ellie outlines her experiences of working with a number of high profile Rugby Union teams and illustrates how her clinical placement has benefitted her in the pursuit of a career in sports rehabilitation.
“When I first applied for my Sport Rehabilitation degree, I always wanted to pursue a career in high performance sport. I was aware how difficult this was but it didn’t curb my enthusiasm and with the help of the lecturers on the programme I have been able to start building my CV up for this.
With the support from the school, I had the opportunity to work with the USA 7’s team and the All Blacks in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. These led me to securing a placement with the Super Rugby Champions the Otago Highlanders in New Zealand.
It has been an amazing experience getting to work in elite sport with some of the best athletes in the world and has opened my eyes to the possibilities that my Sport Rehabilitation degree can provide me. During my time in New Zealand I also worked with the USA 7’s in the HSBC World 7’s Series in Wellington and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of the programme director Claire McLoughlin, who has contacts with the team.
It has been one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’m confident it will increase my chances of getting my dream job in the future.” Ellie Boyce
Testimonials
"The massage and treatments were really good. I can really feel the difference before and after the massage. Definitely one of the best." - Malakai Fekitoa. Otago Highlanders and New Zealand International Centre
"Ellie massaged me whilst I was rehabbing a knee injury and she did an amazing job especially with the muscles around my knee to release the tension and free my movement up. Great pressure and attention to detail." - Dan Pryor. Otago Highlanders Flanker