Sports Awards: Cane keen to get back to the Chiefs

Sam Cane with Julia Robinson at Friday night's Bay of Plenty Sports Awards at ASB Arena. Photo / Andrew Warner

All Black Sam Cane was not expecting to beat Kane Williamson to win the Bay of Plenty Sportsman of the Year awarded on Friday night.

Cane was just pleased to be nominated alongside "some pretty elite sportsmen".

"I think I am here to just make up the numbers to be honest," he laughed. "It sort of takes you back a bit. You only have to look at tonight to realise how well young Bay of Plenty sportsmen and women are doing on the world stage. It is pretty impressive so it is awesome to be able to come back and spend some time at the Mount as well."

Cane said he had well and truly moved on from the post-Rugby World Cup euphoria that followed the All Blacks triumph in London.

"You still come across people you haven't seen in a little while and the first thing they often do is congratulate you but personally I have jumped off that cloud and had some real good time away. I've been to Rarotonga and been fishing up in the Bay of Islands for a few days. It is about a month before we are back in with the Chiefs so it is going be to be a pretty exciting year there as well."

With Richie McCaw retiring, the All Blacks' number 7 jersey is finally vacant for the first time since his debut back in 2001. Cane is the obvious candidate to replace him after serving his apprenticeship in the All Blacks since 2012.

"It is a golden opportunity. It has been a long time that he has been in the black jersey but I will be just focusing on the Chiefs season," Cane said. "Personally all I can do is worry about playing well for them and that puts you in conversations for higher honours."

The new look Chiefs squad appeals to Cane as the right sort of players with the right attitude to go into battle with.

"It is a pretty exciting group at the Chiefs for us. We have a young side and plenty of players that people will not know a lot about but hopefully by the end of the season they will. "

Cane is an openly huge fan of Chiefs coach Dave Rennie who has a remarkable insight into finding players to fit the Chiefs culture.

"(Rennie) is a special man. He has already done what he calls character testing and putting guys under pressure and pushing them to their limits, even at this early stage in pre-season. We have had a couple of catch-ups and he said we've got some good young boys with a lot of ticker and a lot of character, so that is probably the first box he looks to tick.

"When you spend so much time with guys and you need to rely on them through a long season, it is a pretty important quality really."