Injured All Blacks captain Sam Cane at a training session. Photo / Photosport
Injured All Blacks captain Sam Cane at a training session. Photo / Photosport
On a day where the All Blacks and Black Ferns unveiled their new strips, Sam Cane revealed he has given most of his test jerseys away.
Inspired by test centurion Ma'a Nonu, who emerged through Welington's Oriental Rongotai club to play 103 tests from 2003-2015, injured All Blackscaptain Cane decided decorating his local rugby club served a better purpose than hording his jerseys at home.
Cane gifted his first test jersey to his mother; his grandparents have one each and he has donated a couple to worthy charity causes. Otherwise, though, he intends to collect as many rival nations as possible and send them to his Bay of Plenty grassroots club.
"As of two months ago I donated all of my test jerseys to the Reporoa rugby club," Cane said at the Adidas-designed jersey launch on Wednesday. "After I played about 10 tests I've made a conscious effort to collect one from every nation we've played.
"I'm still missing a couple. When we played Japan I was getting stiches after the game so I missed getting that trade.
"The other day I said to Luke Jacobson 'are you going to trade with Fiji'. He said it was only his fourth jersey but I said I'd never played Fiji so you want to get one.
"We went to Ories rugby club in Wellington years ago and Ma'a Nonu had donated one from each nation and they had them up in the club rooms. It was pretty cool to see and to be able to share that with everyone who goes through the clubrooms.
"To be able to do that a couple of months ago was something I'm pretty proud of. The club is organising putting that up for me.
"I'd much rather that than have 20, 30 jerseys sitting in a bag. I do have to be careful though because I don't want to run out and you don't know when your next one is going to be."
Sam Cane is slowly recovering from a pectoral injury. Photo / Photosport
On that note, Cane is continuing to progress his return to play following pectoral surgery. At this stage he hopes to make his return through the NPC at the backend of September, a timeline that would have him on track to make his test comeback on the end of year tour.
"That's the plan. They've always said it would be a six month return to play. I've never put a date on when I'll be back. If it is ready by that stage there's two games left in the Bay of Plenty calendar."
Aaron Smith is another to be inspired by Nonu's collection at the Ories club, with the All Blacks halfback gifting many of his test jerseys to Feilding Yellows.
Smith won't be giving up this weekend's jersey, though, as he becomes the All Blacks' 10th centurion in Saturday's opening Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park.
"I remember seeing Ma'a Nonu's wall at his club and it was full of jerseys so I wanted that at my club in Feilding," Smith said. "I've got a big rack with all my jerseys in order. It's pretty special. There's a few I keep in my gym area that I use to motivate me to think of those good moments. There's a couple of Super ones and some very special All Blacks jerseys."
With successive Bledisloe matches over the next two weeks at Eden Park, where the All Blacks last lost to the Wallabies in 1986, before departing to Australia for at least their next three tests, Smith knows the All Blacks must capitalise on home advantage while they can.
"I've never had back-to-back tests there before so we need to make the most of that opportunity. That puts things in our favour, but the way the Australians are playing; the way Dave Rennie coaches, they're not going to worry about that. It's a big opportunity for them to make a statement.
"For us, Eden Park doesn't make you play any better but knowing the stadium is full, knowing the history of that field, knowing the standards it demands it's good pressure.
"I love that feeling of getting ready for a big game. Throughout our group in the last couple of days there's a real edge around the boys knowing there's a big one coming."
