David Leggat: Move north reignited Kelleher's career

A blond shadow has hung over Byron Kelleher's ambitions to become the first choice All Blacks No 9.

True, the shades on Justin Marshall's head have varied from time to time, but he's always been around since his All Blacks debut in 1995.
Even at the end of last year, when Marshall was stood down for the end-of-year tour to Europe, opening the door for Kelleher to be top gun with two fledglings, Piri Weepu and Jimmy Cowan, for company, Marshall was in the rugby public's mind.

Not only did he show up to play for the Barbarians against his country, but Kelleher's form was gauged against what Marshall would have done in the same situation.

Now, with the first Lions tour here in 12 years looming, the situation is the same - with a difference.

Instead of Kelleher on the outside looking to snaffle his opportunities either as a replacement or in the odd starting chance, he's the encumbent.

And what's more, he gave the All Blacks selectors something to chew on with a memorable display in the dismantling of France in Paris in November.

He scored a fine individual try and was able to sit down for his Christmas dinner content that he'd reinforced his credentials for the Lions campaign.

Kelleher credits his move north from Dunedin to Hamilton and the Chiefs last year as a significant point in his career.

And there's a refreshing honesty in his self-appraisal of why he had to pack his bags down south.

"I had an opportunity to become a leader, take it by the horns and show leadership off the field as well as on," Kelleher said.

"I'm 28. It's about time I stood out of the rut I was going through in Otago, to make sure I really nailed it when I came up here, which I did.

"I came up for a reason and I felt I fulfilled that quite nicely and grew my character individually off the field as well.

"I'm a much stronger person for that now. I was pretty happy with the way things went last year and I'm really looking forward to this year."

So why did he make the move? Tony Brown and Kelleher were the southern version of Andrew Mehrtens and Marshall at the Crusaders, the axis on which their teams spun.

In Kelleher's case, he felt stale.

"Everyone's like that. It doesn't matter what you're involved in. The brain goes a bit stale.

"You don't take it for granted, but it sort of becomes natural that way. A change is as good as a holiday. I've made the change and I'm absolutely loving it up here."

It's testimony to Marshall's longevity and survival skills that of Kelleher's 32 test appearances, he has started only 13 of them. Of those he has played the full 80 minutes just seven times.

Lions selection will hinge on three factors: who is in the best form at the right time; who fits the mix for what the selectors want to achieve in terms of pattern and philosophy; and who has the selectors' faith in their ability to carry out their plans.

Kelleher began tidily in the Chiefs' first-up loss to the Waratahs in Sydney last weekend. Some of the usual bustle was there, the workrate was good, but it was a bad night to be a Chief, on the wrong end of a 25-7 scoreline.

Tomorrow night at Jade Stadium will be the first real gauge on which of the two leading contenders for No 9 has made the sharper start to the year.

"It's a long year," Kelleher said. "That said, you've got to make sure the mind is in the right spot, wholly and solely focussed, then the rest of it will come." 'It' being the test jersey.

Kelleher thinks about more than the rectangular slab of grass these days.

"To have your mind in the right place, it's not all about rugby. It's a balance of things. It's making sure that you have discipline off the field.

"It all contributes to your character, which contributes to how you perform on the field."