Nehe Milner-Skudder has risen quickly in the All Blacks ranks after showing promise as a pupil at Queen Elizabeth College. Photo / Getty Images
Nehe Milner-Skudder has risen quickly in the All Blacks ranks after showing promise as a pupil at Queen Elizabeth College. Photo / Getty Images
College coach says Nehe Milner-Skudder stood out from crowd even at an early age.
There's a string of colleges around the country known for churning out rugby talent: Auckland Grammar, Hamilton Boys High, Christchurch Boys High, the list goes on.
Notably absent is Palmerston North's Queen Elizabeth College, where a teenage Nehe Milner-Skudder played in the first XV. It was also the only XV.
Now the 24-year-old outside back is an All Black and one of the most exciting selections to make New Zealand's World Cup squad.
Rugby is in Milner-Skudder's blood but it wasn't always his first choice. He started out playing rugby league and was selected for the Bulldogs' under-20 side in Sydney in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 he made the move back to New Zealand and made the switch to rugby, debuting in the 2011 ITM Cup for Manawatu.
Two uncles, one from each side of his whanau, played for the All Blacks: Buff Milner and George Skudder.
Milner died almost a decade ago, but Skudder is still on his farm in Te Puke and "elated" about his nephew's achievement.
"I've already texted him congratulating him - all in Maori of course, saying the blood of his ancestors runs through him as much as all of us."
The 1969-73 All Black wing said his nephew was so busy with team commitments he hadn't had the chance to talk to him yet, so heard about the selection "same as when the rest of New Zealand found out, half past six on Sunday".
Skudder said coach Steve Hansen must have recognised the "speed and x-factor" in his nephew.
"I've always thought he's had it but it's not me you've got to convince," he said, joking. "I'm very, very pleased with him."
Milner-Skudder's star has risen quickly; his selection for the World Cup squad coming after only two tests for the All Blacks.
His former Queen Elizabeth College coach, Josh Stewart, says that doesn't surprise him at all.
"He has a real unique skillset that I haven't seen in anyone else," Stewart said.
"He's a bit of a freak really. Just his ability on the field, he could pretty much pick up any sport and be good at it, but also the mental side of it, he's a real intelligent kid.
"He had his head screwed on and on the field he was always one step ahead of everyone else."
Nehe Milner-Skudder as a student at Queen Elizabeth College.
Stewart said he could spot Milner-Skudder's talent from the start.
"He's been outstanding ever since I've been into contact with him," Stewart said of the youngster's time at college. "[When] you've got someone at that level you need everyone else to step up. When he was here, that was a massive influence on the people around him."
Stewart credits his former pupil with a string of wins during his time at the college. "He definitely had the Midas touch. It was the way he approached the game, he was a perfectionist and wanted everything to work and when it didn't he'd make sure he went over [it] and that next time it would.
"As I said he was a freak and what he could do with his passing, his stepping, that was down to him having the basics sorted. He's always ... making sure he's got the fundamentals before he tries the tricky stuff."
Milner-Skudder's teammate and friend, Hurricanes flanker Callum Gibbins, has been playing professional and club rugby with him since 2012.
The pair also played alongside each other in the Manawatu Turbos and Massey University rugby team.
Gibbins said he watched the selection announcement live with his flatmates. "I was pretty proud of him, a couple of the guys let out a big yell, it was pretty exciting actually."
Gibbins congratulated Milner-Skudder via text, telling him the pick was well-deserved.
Hard work and dedication has paid off for Milner-Skudder, Gibbins said. "He offers something that no one else does at the moment. Watching him play those last few games, the times he's touched the ball and straight away they scored. He's just so explosive and he reads the game really well."
