NATIONAL HONOURS: Hawke's Bay's Jonathan Ruru wants to stay in the All Black Sevens team and push for a Super Rugby contract. PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR
IT may be the festive season but smart rugby coaches know they shouldn't chill out completely.
If they're not in sevens mode preparing game plans in the countdown to the Hawke's Bay Sevens tournament in Waipukurau on February 17 they will be busy tinkering with their 15-a-side pre-season training schedules for when training sessions resume in a fortnight. They should also be pondering some motivational speeches.
If they're stuck for ideas on this front they could talk about former Hawke's Bay Magpies halfback Jonathan Ruru, a bloke who 15 months ago was regarded as the third ranked No 9 in the province but can now reflect on playing in the Dubai and Cape Town editions of the 2016-'17 World Sevens Series with the All Black Sevens and a runners-up placing as the No 1 halfback for Otago in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship.
"It's been pretty crazy ... the best seven months of my life. The best thing was getting out of Hawke's Bay," Ruru, 23, said during a visit home for Christmas.
After one appearance off the subs bench for the Magpies in 2015 Ruru started this year hunting for a stint with a North Island Heartland Championship team. But one day while on the job as a personal trainer at the Pettigrew-Green Arena Gym and reading the latest rugby news on line he learnt Otago halfback Josh Renton was going to miss the season through injury.
'I got hold of Blocker [Otago's strength and conditioning coach and his former Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports clubmate Karl Bloxham]and told him I was keen. He put their coach Cory Brown on to me and Cory said he couldn't make any promises ... there would be three of us fighting for the No 9 jersey. I moved down the following week and ended up as the No 1 halfback ... it was a mean experience.
"I've got another year-long contract with Otago. Hopefully I can go another step higher and gain a Super Rugby contract. But Josh [Renton] will be back and the first challenge will be to hold on to my No 1 halfback berth," Ruru explained.
The Napier Boys' High School product's All Black Sevens selection was more of a surprise as his only nationals with Hawke's Bay was in Rotorua last January. His quality defensive work was one of the highlights for a team which under achieved big time.
"I did sevens as a low-key thing last summer. But in August our Otago Sevens team coach Kane Jury told me I was a contender for the All Black Sevens and to be ready.
While we were preparing for our Mitre 10 Cup final I got told I would be going to the first Sevens camp which I survived and then at the second one I made the 12 for Dubai and Cape Town, two of the best venues on the circuit," Ruru said.
He played in every game at the two tournaments apart from the semifinal loss to South Africa in Cape Town where he scored a last minute try to give the Kiwis a 24-19 win against Scotland in the playoff for third. Despite this success and the improvement the All Blacks Sevens displayed in Cape Town, where they had one loss, on the three losses in Dubai Ruru knows he has to perform well for Otago at the January 14 and 15 nationals in Rotorua if he is going to earn an All Black Sevens contract and a spot in the team for the January 28 and 29 World Series tournament in Wellington.
"With the All Black Sevens you are never in the team until it is announced. But I've had a taste and if I continue to do well the Tokyo Olympics could be a realistic goal."
He pointed out the team and coaching staff only had two weeks together before Dubai.
"There was a big shift in Cape Town after our extra week together. The plans are there but some patience is needed."
"Some of the teams on the circuit have been together for four years and won't get much better. Our team is at the bottom, trying to change the way we play and our environment. We know what we have to do to get to where we want to be," Ruru said.
His older brother and former Magpies halfback Michael Ruru, 26, has been selected in the Western Force Super Rugby team for next year.
"Some of my mates gave me a hard time when Michael got a Super Rugby contract before me. I tell them I got a silver fern before Michael. He was proud of me but cut at the same time," Ruru said with a grin.
"It's been a pretty mean time for both of us in recent months. Michael got married the other week but I missed the wedding because I was on the circuit."
Ruru agreed his late father and Pirate club stalwart Luke Ruru, who died of a heart attack last year would be proud of what his sons had achieved.
"It's a shame all the good stuff is happening now and he isn't here to see it because he did a lot of the early work for both of us."
Ruru recalled when his father would ride his bike and get the brothers to go for runs. Often Michael had to have rubbish bags on so he could sweat off some kilograms to make age group rep teams.
"Dad would put rocks in a back pack and make me wear it so I wouldn't get too far ahead of him and Michael."
The younger Ruru has always claimed to be the more handsome of the brothers so the question had to be asked. With Gillies Kaka and some of the other "models" in the squad in recent years no longer there did he see some modelling opportunities?
"That's Tim Mikkelson's department. When there are modelling opportunities he is quick to put his hand up and hand out his business card so he can promote his Coromandel cafe."
If rookies like Ruru can give experienced campaigners like Olympian Mikkelson some flak that's an indication the All Black Sevens environment is a friendly one.
"Yes it's unreal ... really inviting," Ruru said.
He is enjoying the Dunedin lifestyle and the Otago Razorbacks culture and is unlikely to return to the Bay for a while yet.
"The boys down there are awesome. The culture is similar to the Highlanders culture and the players see it. Having two brothers [Cory and Tony Brown] coaching the respective teams certainly helps," Ruru added.