Mighty Power Ranger

Rene Ranger. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It's not hard to make a judgment on Rene Ranger. He is one out of the box.

It's the day of a big game and journalists are not supposed to get near the closeted heroes who will crash into each other later on.

But on Thursday, hours before Northland meet Taranaki in New Plymouth in the opening match of the 2010 ITM Cup, Rene Ranger answers his phone.
And he proceeds to give some extraordinary insights into a life that was extremely ordinary not so long ago.

How that has changed. The boy from Wellsford roomed with the incomparable Richie McCaw while making his starting debut for the All Blacks against South Africa two weekends ago; he's ditched his 1989 Toyota Corolla for a Northland-supplied Ford XR6; and he's just spent the most money of his life - $1500 on a new television.

Not bad for a 23-year-old who left school at 15, spent time working for a local saw blade manufacturer and who had a stint on a stop-go sign.

Ranger has gone from Rooster to Superman.

The Rooster moniker is typical of his tale. It came when he was hacking around in the Northland third division with little-known Tomarata.

"Their team colour is red. I used to have this blonde hair kind of thing - it was pretty nasty back then but I thought I was pretty cool, eh. I used to try and mohawk it up, so my team mates called me Rooster," he says.

His girlfriend, part-time plasterer Kimberly Te Haara whose father Allan coached Rene when he was 14, says the hair was worse than that.

"It was red in the front and blue at the back."

You're not going to get away with that in Northland.

Ranger, a dashing back, has always caught the eye on the field.

"I am always willing to have a crack, have a go. But I have had to learn how to become a team player because everyone is always on me these days."

Off the field, he has similar lessons to learn - and he knows it. He is to face trial for assault later this year and is keen to avoid a repeat.

He is one of three children, Eva and Joseph are younger than him. His parents, Roland and Te Hau, moved around the north, from Warkworth to Snells Beach, then to Wellsford and a few years ago, after the parents split, he ended up in little Kaiwaka with his dad. There is still tension, with both parents claiming the other drinks too much during interviews for this piece.

Roland is no shrinking violet, a diesel fitter who has worked in Libya, west Africa and Papua New Guinea. He's a hard man and that's brushed off on his son.

Is he proud of Rene? "Nah, not really. I mean it's good he's playing rugby. If someone has got a talent, they have got a talent."

Ranger and Kimberly have been going out seven years, starting when she was in her fourth form year (Year 10) at Rodney College. He had already quit school, something that was no surprise to anyone.

Thankfully for Ranger, his rugby career was picking up. He made it into the Northland under-19s, graduated to the senior side and came to national prominence with Gordon Tietjens' sevens squad and the Blues in Super 14.

He is clearly in awe of people like McCaw, whom he roomed with before the last South African test.

"He sets the standards, eh - it was interesting though because I have never roomed with a legend like him. I actually told him he was snoring one night. He said: 'The next time throw a pillow on my head.' I'd never do that."

The things he sees now are eye-opening and Kimberly, not least, is noticing the changes.

"He is not so blasé I suppose. I think it has made him want to settle down. It's kind of good. If anything it has brought us closer."

Ranger, too, knows life has to change. "I guess my life has changed but I still try to be myself because I think once these superstars ... once they are up there, they get kind of big headed but I still try to be myself really."