Rugby: Twickenham and back again - Willi Heinz is defying Father Time

Willi Heinz' experience is proving to be an asset for Canterbury in 2022. Photo / Photosport

At 35 years old, Willi Heinz is rolling back the years in the NPC this season, starring in every match for Canterbury to help secure a home quarter-final with two rounds remaining.

A sixth NPC title is in reach – and it's a long way from where he thought he might be at the start of 2022.

Heinz was in the early stages of a new deal with England Premiership club Worcester, having moved to the UK seven years ago with his wife and young children. However, the Covid-19 pandemic made some things clear for them, and having not seen family back home for years, they made the decision to return to New Zealand.

"We absolutely loved our time there but the Covid period through 2021 and the start of this year put everything into perspective," Heinz tells the Herald.

"Our three kids hadn't seen their grandparents and cousins for a long time so we felt like it was right to come back and give them the opportunity to get to know them again."

Minds made up and a return to Christchurch imminent, Heinz still had the fire to lace up the boots.

Enter Crusaders coaching guru and former Canterbury mentor Scott Robertson, who brought Heinz in to do some training with the Super Rugby champions when some of the team's halfbacks were unavailable.

"I'd stayed in touch with Razor during my time overseas," Heinz explains. "We'd have the odd phone call and messages, just casually. When I got back it coincided with when they got hit with a little bit of Covid. One or two of their halfbacks went down so he said to come in and do some training.

"Because I didn't really have anything else to do either, he said I could keep coming in casually a couple of times a week. That was great for me, kept me fresh and sharp."

A fresh-faced Willi Heinz in action for Linwood in 2009. Photo / Photosport

A shock-to-the-system return to grassroots rugby with Linwood caught the eye of Canterbury selectors, who had no hesitation bringing him back into the fold. Given the experiences Heinz had enjoyed in the Northern Hemisphere, who could blame them?

Heinz learned plenty during his time in England; the biggest shock on arrival at Gloucester in 2015 being the need to improve his kicking game.

"My first game in the Premiership we played Newcastle away, I think I box kicked at least 20 times. I was just like 'wow, I really need to sharpen this tool up and learn how to control the game out of our half'. That's what's expected of halfbacks up there; you control that first third of the field.

"It was a real learning process and it took me a year to 18 months to properly get the hang of it. From there I started to really enjoy it. There's a lot of external pressure in and around the Premiership games and I enjoyed that arm wrestle."

Those early revelations saw him work hard to sharpen his skillset, and he played himself into such form that a surprise call came from England coach Eddie Jones. Heinz was eligible for selection for England through his grandmother, who was born in the country, and he was brought into camp.

Two years on from that call, in August 2019, Heinz was picked to make his debut against Wales at Twickenham. Jones would name his World Cup squad the day after the test.

"I was crapping it all week," Heinz jokes.

"I hardly slept the night before. But it was incredible to run out onto Twickenham. It was a full house; I had my family there and my Mum flew over. It was awesome. The forwards were on one that day which made my life pretty easy. To get included in the World Cup squad after that was amazing.

"To be able to look back now and say that I got that opportunity, I'm eternally grateful."

Twelve caps followed – including a World Cup semifinal triumph over the All Blacks in Yokohama.

Willi Heinz' improved kicking game came in handy during his 13 caps for England. Photo / Photosport

Heinz treasured his time under Jones, who he describes as marmite – you either love it or hate it.

"He can be pretty hard on people, but that's for a reason," Heinz said. "He's got a really good way of distilling a lot of information down and making it come across simple to the players.

"It's really challenging at the start of a week – 'boys we have to be on with this, we have to be on with that'.

"If the standards aren't right in those first couple of days of training, he is blowing the whistle and demanding the little things are executed perfectly. And then by the end of the week, it's – 'boys you're so ready, I've never seen a team more ready than this.' You can just see it in the boys' eyes they're just frothing to get out there by the weekend."

Having worked under some of the best, Heinz hasn't ruled out a move to coaching once his time on the pitch comes to an end, but for now, with his family settled again, he won't be moving from the Garden City.

While he will be 36 in November, he's firm in the view that he has more to achieve within the white lines of the rugby field.

"I still love it. I get a real thrill coming out here each day for training and challenging myself, and helping other guys out as well.

"Looking back on my career I've had two parts and they were both awesome. I'm getting to have this last little bit now so I'm just trying to make the most of it."