Rugby: Hall offered chance - and cracks it

Caleb Hall says he wants to test himself because he's never been in the position of being able to train week in, week out.

It was unexpected, but when the call came, Caleb Hall was ready.

Named on the Bay of Plenty Steamers' bench for the first game of the 2015 campaign, the midfield back was called into action when Terrence Hepetema was led from the field with an ankle injury just six minutes in.

Hall made enough of an impact for coach Clayton McMillan to start him in the No12 shirt for the second game, against Tasman, and he retains the position for tonight's home clash with the Southland Stags.

"All of us are training hard and putting in the yards, so whether it's 80 minutes or five minutes, you just want to make the most of your opportunity on the field," Hall said. "I think I gave it a good shot and I'm looking to improve each game."

While with the Pakuranga club, where he spent three years playing inside Malakai Fekitoa, Hall, 25, came to the attention of the Steamers coaching staff last year.

He had been called into the Blues development side that played against New Zealand Under-20s at Baypark in May last year.

"A mutual friend who used to play for the Bay, Grant McQuoid, just got the Bay of Plenty coaches to come and have a look. I ended up having a pretty good game and they said 'we've got our contracts full, but if you're interested to come down and give it a crack, we'd love to have you'."

This year, things fell into place when he secured the position of rugby development officer at Bethlehem College.

"At the beginning of the year, I decided to give rugby a good crack and I'm pretty happy with the way things have turned out so far."

Transferring his allegiance to Greerton Marist, he set his sights on a Steamers' jersey.

"We started off with the high-performance programme at the beginning of the year," Hall said.

"I wanted to test myself because I've never been in the position of being able to train week in, week out."

Whether his "crack" at the game results in a Super Rugby contract is yet to be seen.

"Super Rugby would be a dream, but first and foremost I want to prove to myself and whoever else is out there that I can really be confident at this level and if I can do that, there's always opportunities to go further."

Tonight's game at Baypark is the second of three in quick succession for the Steamers. The workload just has to be managed.

"I just think, mentally, you've got to be able to find where your limits are when you're sore, when you're fatigued, and push right to that limit without going over the other side and actually doing your body no good.

"What's been really good here has been the recovery. They're really on to it, getting into ice baths twice a day and getting massage - it's one of the little things that makes a big difference."

With a one win, one loss record so far, Hall doesn't see much advantage in focusing on the past too much.

"We've got the confidence in the team and in our skill set to perform, even against the top premiership teams.

"Coming into Southland, we can't look too far ahead because this is a championship team and we need to put points on the board."

-Steamers v Southland Stags, ASB Baypark Stadium, tonight, 7.35 kick-off.