Rugby: Joker in the pack a diamond in the rough for Maori

Hayden Triggs says he's risen to his tight-five role. Photo / Alan Gibson

The young Hayden Triggs never had much time for lifting in lineouts or cleaning out around the breakdown and he derived no pleasure from putting his head between the backsides of his prop and hooker to push at scrum time.

Not your average lock then. More than that, he's not your average modern-day footy player either.

In an age of one-size-fits-all athletes, Triggs remains one of rugby's more colourful characters. His propensity for doing things his own way probably held him back early in his career, but at the age of 28 the Maori lock has tightened up his act on the field while staying loose off it.

In his early 20s he was putting in some eye-catching performances for an under-manned Manawatu side. The problem being that he was not so much a loose-forward trapped in a lock's body, but a dashing outside back.

"Five years ago, I was a running lock. I'd find myself in the backline, maybe even out on the wing occasionally," Triggs says.

Great for spectators, not so great for the coach. But the harshest criticism over his carefree style came not from the man with the clipboard but from a closer source.

"I've taken a few jabs for being out in the backs from my relatives, especially mum and dad. My girlfriend Mikala is getting into me now, too. She reckons she never really noticed me when we first started going out, but now she's become quite the observer, quite the critic about how I'm going."

Of late, Mikala has found herself with less ammunition.

"I've found I've started to fulfil my tight five role, I'm starting to hit rucks more and be a bit more aggressive. I've even found I'm enjoying it. That's what I'm basing my game around now. It's not about how many runs I make or passes I give, it's about who I clean out and how effective I am in the tight."

If highly regarded Manawatu coach Dave Rennie instilled in Triggs a passion for the sport, Highlanders' mentor Glenn Moore has boiled it down and refined it.

"He has drummed into me my responsibilities," Triggs says. "He's drummed into me the importance of getting off the ground. Even if I am stuck under a body, I have to fight to get back up, get back into the game and get around the ball.

"I never used to like pushing in the scrums or lifting in the lineout, but I've found a new lease of life for that kind of area of my game. I enjoy doing it and enjoy it more when I do it with quality."

It's a quality Maori coach Jamie Joseph has recognised, elevating Triggs from the bench to a starting spot against the Irish in Rotorua tonight.

"He impressed me in the 40 minutes he played last week [against the Barbarians]. He's what we need in the tight five. We need a leader who is going to go out there and do that work and in those 40 minutes he showed me he had that ability."

A psychologist might say that Triggs has compensated for his more buttoned-down style of rugby by seeking more freedom in life.

What spins his wheels away from rugby is, quite literally, the spinning wheels of his "Ducati 900 monster". The roads around Otago have become his playground.

"I'm going through a motorbike phase at the moment, I'm enjoying time on my bike. It sounds a dream, goes a dream."

The people in charge of health and safety probably aren't too impressed with his other passion either.

"During the winter I like to spend a bit of time up the mountain doing a bit of snowboarding. Me and my crew, the Snow-Hawks, we like to get up there. We're having a bit of a reunion up there after this," he says, before adding cryptically, "but I better not say who the others are because of the players' association."

If he is starting to sound like bit of a man-child, there is another side to Triggs - proud father and partner.

"I just love being at home with my daughter Adelaide, and Mikala. Adelaide is 23 months now, two in August. We don't spend a lot of time and home and when I do it's quite fragmented so I appreciate all the time I get to see her grow up. I'm really looking forward to getting home."

Home for the next fortnight is Palmerston North, but then they are moving to a "nice house" in Dunedin, having shifted his national provincial championship allegiance from Manawatu to Otago last year.

Triggs will always have a strong connection to Manawatu.

Born and raised in Wainuiomata, Triggs went to Hato Paora College, near Cheltenham, for secondary school. "I also did six months at Takapuna Grammar in Auckland for a bit of a muck around, but my roots are Hato Paora. I boarded for four years and became a man."

Hato Paora gave him a grounding in te reo, so he has been given the responsibility for calling the lineouts tonight, calls that will be made exclusively in Maori.

"It is nothing new to me. It's just getting a few of the older fellas and younger ones up to speed. Counting to 10 in Maori isn't that hard - even for a white boy," Triggs jokes.

Behind the smiles, Triggs is full of pride about his elevation to the starting 15. He talks reverentially about the jersey and his guardianship of it.

"It's a big honour and a privilege. I know I've got some good competition within the squad for that jersey and it's up to me now. I've been blessed with looking after the jersey for this week and will be trying my hardest to keep it for next week as well. It's a big challenge but, mate, I'm ready for it."

This might be the greatest achievement of Triggs' career to date but don't assume it will be the crowning glory.

"A lot of people tell me that 28 is just coming into a lock's prime. I'll believe that for now."