Jamil Robinson

International rugby star Jamil Robinson has overcome adversity to achieve his sporting success. He has represented the rugby union team the Asia Pacific Dragons, or ‘APDs’, as well as the USA national team. In his first year at Ohio University, he tried to make the football squad but was unsuccessful. Ultimately, rugby benefited from football’s loss. It was while he was at university that Robinson first met Paul Holmes, the founding partner of elite level sports traning facility Tiger Rugby. He played with Holmes in a mid-west All-Star game. During the Rio Olympics in 2016, Tiger Rugby ran the Tiger Academy in Columbus, Ohio, which Robinson attended. They housed 16 players who trained twice daily to hone their talents and help their progress as rugby players, not simply as athletes.

Robinson was initially drawn to rugby union, but was later given the chance to play rugby league, which he seized with both hands. He has said that he simply pictures himself playing rugby, regardless of whether it’s league or union, tens or XVs. For Robinson, rugby is a terrific sport to participate in regardless of the structure, because the pleasure comes from working as a team and achieving the common objective of winning.

In 2020, Robinson was in a car accident that, in his own words, he was fortunate to survive. He was forced to miss the Miami IMG Academy Rugby Combines due to the incident. However, he went on to make a full recovery and was chosen for the APDs team. You can follow him on Instagram @jamilrobinson_.