Young Wigan forward Kai Pearce-Paul has hailed his teammates and coaches for helping him ease into life at the Warriors.
The 19-year-old signed for the club from London Broncos at the start of 2020, having impressed for both the Broncos’ academy and for Lancashire in last year’s Academy Origin series.
Originally from Bromley in south-east London, a move so far north can be a daunting prospect for a player his age but he insists those at the club made the transition seamless.
“I’ve always been quite good getting used to new things and adapting to different situations” he told the Warriors’ media team. “I’ve found it really easy. Obviously I miss home and stuff, but you find ways around it. I FaceTime my friends and family back home.
“It’s more about the fact that everyone has been so welcoming. If I have any problems, I can easily approach anyone, there’s no awkwardness or anything.
“In the first few weeks, all the players were showing me around and telling me about Wigan. They have really helped me get used to the north.
“I was a bit clueless at first, as I had only come up north when I was playing matches for London Broncos, but I’ve got used to it and it’s the norm for me now.”
Part of his reason to sign for the five-time Super League champions was the chance to attend the University of Central Lancashire, with whom the Warriors have a close relationship.
He is currently studying for a degree in sports and exercise science and insists balancing studying with training isn’t as stressful as you might think.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Uni, that’s been my aspiration from when I first started school,” he added. “You can call it a plan B, you never know nowadays what could happen.
“All it takes is one serious injury and that could be you out for your career. Having a Uni degree to back my rugby up makes things a lot easier for me if I were to get injured in a very bad way.
“I’m living in Wigan and I’ll usually get the train to Preston and it’s a five-minute walk to the Uni. Wigan are very flexible with the whole thing, there are set days where I will tell them I’m in Uni and they’re fine about it.
“There are always ways of finding time to do gym and training around it. I’m never falling behind and I’m always up to scratch with training.
“The club are very supportive and have been from the beginning and it’s so rewarding to have that flexibility and the ability to do the two thing I love at the same time.”