BELGIAN halfback Isaac Montoisy had not heard of the Shute Shield when he sent his rugby CV to Hunter Wildfires coach Scott Coleman.
Two of Montoisy's Belgian international teammates, Tom Coupe and Mathieu Verden, had played for Hamilton under Coleman and enjoyed their time in Australia.
Montoisy, after playing in Belgium, Spain and France, was keen to experience rugby Down Under.
On Saturday, the 25-year-old will start his third game in the Wildfires No.9 jumper against West Harbour at Concord Oval.
"I was playing sevens for the Belgian national team," Montoisy said.
"I was looking for a new opportunity and had two friends, Tom Coupe and Mathieu Verden, who had played for Hamilton and told me to contact Bubba (Coleman). I sent him video and my CV and he said I could come.
"I was not expecting anything. I just came and did the whole preseason. I didn't know what the Shute Shield was before coming here. "
As well as play sevens for Belgium in the second-tier Challenger World Series, Montoisy has 10 15-a-side caps after making his debut at 18.
"He reached out to me through facebook," Coleman said. "He got himself here. All we had to do was help find him somewhere to live and work.
"He was a Belgian halfback who had played a bit of sevens. He arrived in January and we thought he'd be part of our sevens program and be a number in the squad.
"He is a ball of energy and has trained super hard. He hasn't missed a session and is always working on his craft. He listens and does a lot of really good things.
"The eyes-up stuff - quick taps, darts down the short side - comes naturally. He is really aggressive and strong at jackaling from his sevens background. He will throw his body at anyone. His biggest work area is game management."
Montoisy has shared the halfback role with Nick Murray, who drops back to the bench against the Pirates.
"I am definitely working on my game management and game control," Montoisy said. "I am more a spontaneous player. I am learning a lot from Nick and [second grade halfback] Jayvan [Scarff]. I have a one-year visa but am trying to renew it."
The Wildfires have lost three straight games to drop to 10th place on 16 points. West Harbour are last on seven points with one win.
"Both sides have big forward packs and are set piece dominant," Coleman said. "Both teams have also been making the same dumb mistake to let the opposition into the match.
"We have to execute well and take our chances. West Harbour generally test their arm, They also miss the odd lineout or drop a ball when they shouldn't. Both teams don't have the polish that the top end teams have at the moment."
