Australians can benefit from moving abroad to play rugby because it opens up new avenues both on a personal and a sporting front, claims Wallaby veteran Dean Mumm.
The 31-year-old New Zealand-born lock — who like mercurial fly-half Quade Cooper crossed the Tasman Sea to play for arch-rivals Australia — says his three-year spell at English side Exeter did him the world of good.
Mumm, whose late grandfather Bill Mumm played one Test for the All Blacks ironically against the Wallabies, only moved back to Australia earlier this year when Wallaby coach Michael Cheika said there might be a good chance — if he returned — of a place in the World Cup squad, which ultimately paid off.
Unlike Toulon pair Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, who benefited from the ARU reversing their policy on not selecting foreign-based players, it is unlikely without returning to Australia that Mumm would have gained selection.
However, with increasing numbers of Australians seeking to play in the northern hemisphere Mumm said it would not be a wasted opportunity.
“I think by moving abroad one becomes more well-rounded in terms of how you approach things,” said Mumm, whose impact at Exeter was such that he was made captain in 2013.
“More than anything else I think one benefits mentally, in Australia you can get stuck in one mindset.
“When you come over here you get a different opinion on life and it opens your mind.
“I found it a really refreshing time at Exeter, I really enjoyed the years I spent there and I got very passionate about the area and the people I played with.
“What I learnt was establishing an identity as a team through discovering what we enjoyed doing together as team-mates.
“That definitely helped me to become a better player than when I arrived.”
Mumm, who has enjoyed a memorable opening few weeks to the World Cup having captained Australia in their romp over Uruguay just hours after his wife gave birth in London to their second child, said it was obviously up to each individual to consider their own personal circumstances.
“I don’t think I’m going to affect individuals,” he said with a grin.
“Everyone’s context is different, how they deal with their family and their decision-making.
“Everyone approaches the decision with a different perspective.
“There are lots of stories of Test players who have moved abroad, enjoyed themselves and then returned.
“When you move away and stop playing Test rugby it kind of hits you. Because you only have a finite time of pulling on a Wallaby jumper, don’t you.
“It is a stark reality when you don’t get that opportunity so you you have to treasure every moment that you are wearing it.”
Mumm, who is likely to be on the replacements” bench for the final pool game with Wales on Saturday which will decide who tops the table, said it had been a pleasant surprise when he returned to Australia to discover how Cheika’s arrival at the helm last October had changed the culture within the squad.
“There is a great difference,” said Mumm.
“It is a different coaching structure and by saying that I don’t want to demean anyone else.
“But his system has a different effect in that we have an identity of what we want to be and we work towards that every day in respect of the team and the individual.
“As individuals we want to be humble and genuine.
“Hopefully people can start to see that is who we are because we have worked very hard to get to this stage.”