Dubai has the Burj Khalifa, Asia has Everest, but the Netherlands have Koen Bloemen, one of the tallest players in the Men's Rugby Europe Championship. The gallant skipper of the Oranje is widely regarded as one of the best locks and forwards in the competition.
So, are there any nerves in the Dutch team for their upcoming Men’s REC?
“I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that we are thrilled to go into this Men’s Rugby Europe Championship. I don’t think we are nervous, just very excited, as we will have a shot at something great for Dutch rugby.”
Netherlands finished in 5th place in last year’s Championship and successfully defeated World Cup representatives Chile in a game played in November, in what has been a slow steady growth for the country.
“We made huge steps forward. The first big one was our victory against Belgium in their home turf some years ago, and we have been building up since that moment. Since then, we have become so much better and have exponentially developed as a national side. Look how things were and are now… we used to lose to Portugal, Spain and Georgia by fifty points, and in the last year we were able to contest the games against those teams and even defeat Chile. In the last Men’s REC, we were just a whisker away from winning that game.”
In his own words, Koen Bloemen states the importance of the Delta franchise for his country’s rise in the men’s game,
“We have been in contact for the last couple of months. Unfortunately, the national team didn’t have the chance to play as much as we would’ve wanted, but thanks to the Delta program we have been able to develop more players and upgrade our team chemistry. They won a game in Romania, which was big for us, so yeah, we have been preparing for this moment for quite a while.”
For the last five years, the number of Dutch players going abroad has risen to the dozens, with Koen Bloemen playing with six other fellow countrymen in his Pro D2 club, the Stade Aurillacois. Is there any secret to this new trend?
“I think the only ‘secret’ has been young Dutch players raising their hand and taking that chance of going to France. Our hardworking mindset attracts those teams. Of course, the strong physical build also plays a role, as we resemble a bit of the South Africans. The Netherlands is the country with the tallest people on average, which can be an advantage in the lineout.”
The lock left his home when he was 18, leaving his friends, family and club behind to tackle the unknown. Was it an easy task?
“It is never easy leaving everything behind. The first year is very difficult. If you can’t manage to get into the culture, language and way of life, it can become a challenging time. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't accept right away Montpellier’s invite to join their academy. I thought to myself ‘Just go, it will be an awesome experience.’, and it has been an incredible experience ever since.”
He continues, and reveals a crucial moment of his life where things might’ve played differently if US Bourg-en-Bresse hadn’t come along,
“There were days that I wanted to go back home. There was a specific moment when I was in Montpellier. After three years with them, I got seriously injured and missed the whole season with a broken foot, and didn’t get a contract extension. I thought my career abroad was mostly over, but luckily Bourg-en-Bresse gave me a trial in July. The pre-season had already started, and I went there for one week, after which they offered me a chance to stay. If that didn’t happen, I would’ve surely gone back home.”
From leaving Montpellier without any prospects to winning the Pro D2 with Vannes, Bloemen has enjoyed a crazy ride,
“It’s actually a bit insane, isn’t it? In 2024 I played for four different teams: USBPA, RC Vannes and Stade Aurillacois, and Netherlands. I remember coming back from the last round of the Men’s REC, playing a couple of games for Bourg-en-Bresse, signing with Aurillac for the next season, and then Vannes asking me to go there as a medical joker until the end of the Pro D2 season. I played on Friday night my last game for USBPA, packed my bags on Saturday and drove to Vannes to join them for three months. It was quite an adventure, and it was only possible because of my fiancée. She managed the moving on her own and supported me in those moments. She said to me that I couldn’t miss out on the chance of playing for Vannes, and so things started to fall into their place.”
With all that said and done, we ask a difficult question… did his parents approve of his chosen career?
“Oh, if you had asked my parents some years ago, they would’ve started laughing. My mother actually laughed when I floated the idea of becoming a professional rugby player. They have been very supportive of me since the start, driving me around to games, giving me good advice, and so much more.”
His first sprints were done on the football pitch, but his size would ultimately push him to try new sports, with rugby ultimately being picked as his favourite,
“Football was my first sport, but I had a problem. I was already quite tall when I was four years old, and the other kids didn’t like to play with me, because every time I gave a little shoulder push, they would fall. The coach came to me and my parents and said it would be better to try other sports. I then joined judo, water polo and rugby for three years. It was quite a difficult decision to let water polo go, as I really enjoyed it.”
Has judo, football or water polo helped him become a better rugby player?
“Learning to fall, staying on your feet, and finding out how to work your core were some of the judo skills that I’ve applied to rugby. So, yeah, those experiences helped me.”
Koen Bloemen didn’t have the chance to train with kids of his age for a long time, as rugby in the Netherlands was just a small community at the time,
“The only things that I remember from my first rugby session were: rain and mud. And you know what? I loved every minute of it. It was in the Rugby Club Big Stones, my first club. There weren’t a lot of players around at the time, and in Havelte it was even fewer. From the age of 7 to 10 I had to practice with the seniors, as there weren’t enough young players to make a team. I remember just running around with the older guys, and they were always nice to me, teaching me the basics and that sort of thing.”
Bloemen played for the Netherlands U16, U18 and U20 teams, having experienced the Rugby Europe competitions before he became a senior.
“If memory serves me correctly, my first international experience was in Lisbon in 2016. We played against Luxembourg, Ukraine and Poland, and only lost the last game. It was a fun trip, as it was my first time travelling to another country to play rugby, living with the same group of guys for a couple of weeks, etc.”
He would later become a Dutch international, in what was an emotional moment in his life,
“Lithuania in 2019. It was the last game of the season. It was special for me, as it was the year I had come back from my foot injury, and I was pretty happy to get the chance to play for my country.”
With the senior men’s and women’s international games broadcasted on local TV, Bloemen hopes it can bolster the number of fans and players,
“I hope our latest performances in the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship have converted into more people getting involved with Dutch rugby. I know that my former club is waiting for me to go there and do a session. We must keep doing well so kids from the ages of 14, 15, and 16 watch us and feel the need to join the sport.”
Going back to the success of the Dutch youth teams, what has changed between his time and now?
“The pathway from youth to senior has been the real secret behind our success in the youth national sides. Nowadays you have five academies that work with players who are in high school. They offer a full-time program, from health and conditioning to learning more skills, etc. You start when you are 13 and finish when you are 18. There’s also a new academy that works with a college, so you can join them and keep developing yourself to become a professional rugby player.”
Now, the main subject… can the Netherlands pull off something remarkable when February comes?
“Everything is possible. More than a couple of years ago, we had to go to Waterloo to play against Belgium to fight for a Championship promotion, and we were able to do it against a squad packed with Pro D2 guys. We are working hard and are concentrated on what we can do!”
Before we conclude this brief interview, can Koen Bloemen answer the following question: how is Lyn Jones in the training sessions?
“Lyn is just Lyn. He is a very special guy and has inspired us to create a great team environment in the Dutch camp. He is very vocal, and likes to share knowledge, making us understand where we can do better and how we can push ourselves to reach new heights.”
To cap things off, what’s his favourite Dutch word?
“Maatje, which means friend. You say it when you see somebody that you know.”
And what should a rugby tourist taste when they are in Amsterdam?
“You must have the Stroopwafe! They are waffles with caramel sauce on it. Those are the best treats you can have. And you should also go to a typical Dutch/Belgian snackbar… they have a lot of fried food, but they are worth a try.”
His favorite teammate? And the best player he played with?
“Wolf van Dijk for the first one. Willie du Plessis, Netherlands fly-half was the best I’ve played alongside with.”
And a last message to the Dutch fans reading this interview.
“Come and support us. We will play against Switzerland at home, and we need your support in the stands. Believe in us!”
By Francisco Isaac
Images by Gerard Spaans and Dennis van de Sande.
