He’s already been nominated for the Golden Boot, but you’ve probably never heard of him. Dutch player Joran Schoenmaker is hoping to change that by making a name for himself in France and Australia.
WHEN THE 19 nominations for the 2022 Golden Boot award were revealed there was one name that had many rugby league pundits scratching their heads.
Alongside George Williams, Victor Radley, Josh Addo-Carr and the eventual winner, Roosters and New Zealand representative Joey Manu, was a young Dutch outside back named Joran Schoenmaker who at the time was playing more rugby union matches than league in the Netherlands.
There was a dearth of international rugby league activity in 2022 apart from the World Cup in October. But Schoenmaker impressed the judges with his try scoring feats, beginning with the final of the European D Championships at the end of 2021, where the Dutch flyer scored a hat trick of tries in the Netherlands win over Czech Republic. He followed that up with a double in the ‘Orange Lions’ victory against Spain.
Schoenmaker’s international success gave him the impetus to test himself in the world of semi-professional rugby league, signing a contract with North Wales Crusaders later that year. However Joran cited visa issues as the reason he had to cut his time in the UK short.
An opportunity soon after in North Queensland playing for the Souths Mackay Sharks preceded his current gig at Villeneuve XIII in the French Elite 1 competition.
Despite Villeneuve sitting at the bottom of the table, winless at the time of writing, Schoenmaker has managed to be named in the Elite 1 ‘Team of the Week’ on a number of occasions, a source of great pride for the 24-year-old who admits to be still honing his craft in rugby league.
“It’s cool being the first Dutch born and raised international to play in France and being able to represent my country,” Schoenmaker said.
“I think I’ve been growing a lot since I first started playing rugby league. I learned a lot about the game at Souths (Mackay) and I think I have taken that to France. I think I’m improving really fast and, especially here, I can do more, but there’s still a couple of things I have to tweak to perform even better.
“I decided to play in Australia (after disappointment in Wales) and Souths Mackay were the first club I found, so I flew over there a couple of weeks later. That’s when everything really started for me. I really love rugby league and the intensity on the pitch which is a bit different than rugby union.”
Schoenmaker described the Mackay local competition as being a pretty good standard with most of the clubs acting as feeder teams for the Mackay Cutters who play in the second tier Queensland Cup competition.
“My first game for Souths was my first real rugby league experience as I was used to playing rugby union. If you just run straight you are up against very strong people. It was difficult at first. I really had to get used to the intensity, the amount of running and how strong the players are. However I kept learning and growing. I am like a rough diamond that still needs some shaping I think.”
Despite it being a tough baptism on the field, Schoenmaker soaked up the relaxed lifestyle in Queensland and is keen to return in 2024 to continue his rugby league development.
“Living in Mackay there are so many beautiful areas around. I found Australians to be very open and kind and they love to help you with anything.
“I hope to find a team in Queensland again next season. It would be nice to play for a feeder club of a Queensland Cup team and maybe get a training trial to see if I would be good enough to play at that level. I may not be good enough but you don’t know until you try,” said Schoenmaker, who has a degree in marketing management and a diploma in teaching English as a second language to fall back on if things don’t work out with his sporting aspirations.
While pursuing a career in the professional ranks, the Dutchman has had to forego international appearances with the Netherlands who played a number of matches in 2023.
“It’s kind of tough because the coach (David Hunter) wanted full commitment and obviously because I am in France I couldn’t come to all the training sessions. I would have probably been able to play one or two games without having breached my contract. My coach was open to it. But yeah we decided that this year wouldn’t be the optimal solution for me to play. I obviously miss it and I’d love to represent my country again but I also have to think about my own growth and see how far I can go as a professional. Once the new schedule comes out and there’s more international games planned, depending on what I’m doing next year, I’d be up for playing international games.”
In the meantime Schoenmaker hopes to continue his growth as a player while living in the south eastern French village of Villeneuve in accommodation he shares with two other foreign players at the club.
“It’s a small town so there is not much to do but it does have its charms. There’s lots of beautiful castles you can go and explore and Toulouse is not too far away.
“I am hoping to put the Netherlands on the rugby league map by playing abroad. If I could play in the Queensland Cup this year and then return to France in September it may be that I can inspire a few people from my country to do the same.
“The higher up you go, the more clinical it gets. The attitude of quality players is what I love being around. Last year was the first year I really had a chance to play rugby league properly to be honest.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 492 (January 2024)
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