Rugby: Ellis' patience rewarded at last

Andy Ellis last played for the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final. Photo / Richard Robinson

Hurricanes v Highlanders Super 15 final could rule out 17 of squad for Samoa test.

Quite how Andy Ellis has held it all together these past four years is a miracle.

His career hasn't gone the way he wanted or the way many felt it deserved to since he booted the ball into the crowd to close the 2011 World Cup final.

That moment appeared to have triggered something within Ellis because, when he returned to action with the Crusaders in 2012, he was a different player. All the component parts of his game came together in that campaign and he played better than ever. He was sharp, decisive, influential and, most importantly, played better than every other halfback. Even Aaron Smith.

Ellis certainly played better than Piri Weepu who spent the first 10 weeks of the season trying to shed the 10kg of extra weight he'd returned from the World Cup with.
But when the shakedown came and there was only room for two halfbacks in the All Black squad, Weepu and Smith were named. Ellis was as perplexed as the rest of the nation. He'd delivered everything and more and yet the reward of selection didn't come.

"The coaches talked to me and said there were a lot of good young No 9s in New Zealand and that they had to grow those guys," says Ellis. "That they had to give them opportunities, to let them go out and make mistakes and learn and play well. So for me, it was tough. I understood or appreciated at least the ideas behind it and that's how I rationalised it within myself."

It wasn't easy for Ellis. It didn't seem fair that Weepu was rewarded. Ellis had played better rugby, returned from the World Cup in supreme condition and shown the hunger and desire to improve and win back the jersey. And Weepu, who had trundled around with a desperately poor Blues team, was the man who won the test caps.

When the same pattern played out in 2013, Ellis had every reason to wonder why he was bothering. There were lucrative overseas offers that would have been life-changing had he said yes. And what was really stopping him from leaving? Why hang around for more rejection?

"One of the things that really helped was being involved with the 2011 World Cup. I was really proud of that and I was really happy in my own skin about what I had achieved with the All Blacks.

"Then missing out, that was tough. But I have always had really good support from my family and I have had a couple of kids as well so that grounds you really well, too. A mixture of that stuff really helped me to deal with not being involved and that burning desire to be involved."

His perseverance will finally be rewarded this week. His story will finally have a new chapter - one which proves that the door is never closed. Ellis is almost certain to start against Samoa.

Not originally selected in the 41-man squad, he was called up immediately. Tawera Kerr-Barlow is returning to test football through club rugby and New Zealand Maori, and Ellis was cover for the Chiefs halfback and for the possibility of one or both of Smith and TJ Perenara being involved in the Super Rugby final.

He doesn't care that he's been called in on a temporary basis. As he knows, the door is never closed so he'll give it everything while he's with the team. He's realistic enough to know he's unlikely to change the selectors' minds about their halfback pecking order, but that doesn't matter. The occasion will be for him to do what he's done for the last four years and play his own game.

"It would be huge," he says about the possibility of being selected. "It has been a long four years for me and tough at times. The thing I always held on to was to work hard and get an All Blacks jersey again so, if I am selected, it will be worth it. I'll be really excited. I'll be really proud. The family will be really proud and it will be really cool if that happens.

"There have been a couple of times when I have been off contract and looked overseas and got close. But the burning desire to wear the black jersey again - I didn't want to look back and have any regrets in my rugby career. I suppose I wanted to play my best football while I was in New Zealand. That was one of the goals I set for myself.

"My attitude to being in this team is I want to nail every moment. That is what I have told myself - to make the most of everything and try to be enthusiastic, to learn and grow. The key thing is to not overcomplicate it and to just focus on doing my role. The players who are around you in this team, they will do their job well so you know you just have to do your job well, too."