One of the best pieces of advice an aspiring rugby player can get is to never be satisfied.

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Achieve a goal? Find a new one. 

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That’s really how Kyle Renner has approached his rugby journey.

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Having made a PR7s roster in 2023 with the Rocky Mountain Experts, Renner had, in a sense, arrived. Now he re-set his goals, and that’s why, despite being a PR7s veteran, he returned to the ID Trial in Kansas City last month.

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Well, that and it was in his backyard. “It was a 10-minute drive from my house,” Renner said. “So it was easy to be there. But really the thing is I didn’t feel like I’d done enough to count on an automatic re-sign. So I wanted to keep my name on the radar and show I had made some improvements.”

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PR7s is an excellent option for Renner as he looks to play higher-level rugby. A Kansas City resident, where he’s a personal trainer in his daily life, Renner plays with the Kansas City Blues but still likes the idea of challenging himself in the professional arena.

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“PR7s is perfect for me; I can be here in Kansas City and still play at a very high level,” explained Renner.

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So there he was, having played in PR7s already but feeling he needed to be seen more, Renner got to work.

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“I worked a lot on my fitness,” he said. “It was a lot of bike work and road work. There is also a pretty good touch-rugby scene in Kansas City so there’s always a game going on and I can keep that game-movement and ball-in-hand kind of fitness. When I was with the Experts I didn’t get a lot of playing time and improving my fitness and developing my skills were really important.”

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Once he arrived at the Trial, Renner chipped in to help with the youth camp and then also helped the newer players understand what was required.

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“It was a really good camp,” enthused Renner. “Iowa Central [Community College] brought almost their whole squad so we had a lot of players and talent. We had guys from KC RFC and Kansas City Blues. But the thing was we didn’t have a lot of egos. No one was looking to show off; we were all working to help everyone play better. That’s how it is one PR7s team, so it was good to see.”

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Putting aside ego is why Kyle Renner returned to the tryout even though he could have expected a return callup. It’s that attitude that will be the reason he returns to PR7s in 2024.

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