Tom shows different codes not Poles apart
Representing your country is one of the highest honours any rugby player can hope to receive, so to be given the chance in three different codes was the experience of a lifetime for Wimbledon's Tomasz Pozniak.
The 23-year-old winger is in white-hot form at club level, with his seven tries in six games good for joint second in National Two East.
However, his efforts for Poland on the international stage, in rugby union, league and sevens, presented him a totally new set of obstacles and rewards.
He told The Rugby Paper: “It's unbelievable, seeing games like Portugal-Fiji in the World Cup and knowing that we played Portugal in March.
“We may have lost 65-3 but you're coming up against fantastic sides.” The 2023 Rugby Europe Sevens Trophy campaign, in the second tier of international sevens rugby, was both the most difficult and most satisfying, as Pozniak was the only Englishman in the Polish side.
He said: “I have a basic grasp of the language so I can speak on the pitch, but I can't hold a conversation for more than a minute. It's a challenging language.
“To be fair, all the lads are brilliant with it. They want you to learn more so they'll sit down with you if you start speaking to them and they love it if you come out with one word that's really rogue for them.”
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Pozniak took to integrating himself at a new club at the start of the season with the same relish he applies to his international career.
He said: “It's a completely different journey than when I was in league two years ago with Esher.
“The lads have just got promoted and now you go into every game as the underdog. Against every team that gives you the opportunity to just play. It's a great way to approach rugby.
“This league's absolute chaos, anyone really can beat anyone, but to get some big wins against some of the top teams is what I want to see.” On top of his contributions on the pitch, which he largely attributes to the skill of his teammates in giving him easy-to-finish opportunities, Pozniak is excited to bring some of his off-field career to Wimbledon. As an innovation co-ordinator for the Movember campaign, Pozniak will take the lead at the club in fundraising for men's health.
On combining his love of rugby with his role in the charity, he said: “It's mainly work with video games for me at Movember, but I do end up putting myself up for some of the rugby stuff as well.
“There's a Mo-Bros rugby team that I've played for. They go around spreading the Movember message and play in tournaments all over the world.
“We get our top fundraisers from rugby clubs country-wide, which is a really nice way for them to get together.
“It's grown massively in the last few years, which has been amazing to see.”
