Chiefs: Fresh pastures for southern man

By CHRIS RATTUE

The rumbling voice of longtime Otago rugby chief executive John Hornbrook doesn't miss a beat as he sums up Tom Willis.

"There are not many like him," says Hornbrook, taking the phone call during a game of golf.

"Straight up, no malice, not political. Pretty much an Anton Oliver. When a young player comes into a team it takes a while to get respect, but Tom had that respect straight away.

"If ever you saw a future All Black captain, Tom was that bloke."

Hornbrook has departed as Otago's chief executive, pushed in part by the Laurie Mains controversy as the once-powerful Highlanders set about rebuilding.

But Willis, who might have been an integral part of a new era under head coach Greg Cooper, has also found fresh pastures - in the Waikato.

Willis confirms many players were dissatisfied with Mains, then adds: "I was on the periphery. It's gone and buried as far as I'm concerned."

Instead, it was the presence of Oliver - Mains' chief protagonist - which led Willis to grasp better playing opportunities by moving to the Chiefs.

Willis is Dunedin through and through, and steadfastly refers to it as home. He was born and bred there, and followed the footsteps of his father, Eion, who was a hooker for the Southern club and played a few games for Otago in the early 1980s.

Eion Willis, according to southerners, is a strong, down-the-middle character. Like father, like son, the southerners also say.

It was that character which led Willis, at just 22, to captain John Mitchell's first All Blacks team against Ireland A and Scotland A at the end of 2001. Oliver led the test side.

Willis and Oliver, Oliver and Willis. The names have been intertwined, and, in the end, Willis had little choice but to leave.

In four Super 12 seasons, Willis had just 25 appearances including only six starts. He'd previously turned down chances to leave the Highlanders because of his love of Dunedin, friendships, and gratitude to Otago. And he'd made the All Blacks, despite limited opportunities.

But when Waikato approached last year, Willis had resolved it was time to leave Oliver's shadow.

Willis had been a strong World Cup prospect after making his test debut in Hamilton against Italy and starting the final two Tri-Nations matches in 2002.

After scant game time in the opening Super 12 rounds last year, he tore a cartilage and missed the bulk of the campaign, and his World Cup hopes died.

"I'm sure the Chiefs were one of the teams that tried to draft me in the past but I felt it was best to stay with Otago," says Willis at the Hamilton house he shares with his old Otago comrade Byron Kelleher, the Chiefs' other star recruit.

"My game was still improving and I was given assurance that I would get opportunities and game time.

"But I've finished my law degree now, and last year didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. If I really wanted what I've set out to do, it was time to move."

It means living in a separate town from his girlfriend, who has two years of medical studies left. It also broke up a front-row partnership with his best mate and surfing buddy, Carl Hayman.

The pair met at Kings High School after Hayman's family shifted from New Plymouth. They played for New Zealand under-16 and 19s, schools and colts together, and then Otago and the Highlanders, although their All Black careers have not crossed.

By the time Willis squares up to his mate in Dunedin in early April, he hopes his new team will be well on the way to finding Super 12 credibility.

He has a few personal goals.

"I've always been known as someone who is very good at the basics but I need to break the line and pull off the big tackles," he says.

His ultimate goal is a return to the All Blacks and Willis concedes it is a calculated risk, joining the Chiefs who have a poor history.

"If you want to get players into the All Blacks, you've got to be in the top four. But first and foremost, we've got to do this for ourselves," he says.

"The Chiefs lost a lot of games by very close margins last year. We've got to turn those into wins. On any day, any team can beat any other in this competition.

"Belief needs to be instilled in this franchise. The players have to go into every game believing they are here to win."

On the move:

In: Lome Fa'atau (Wellington), Byron Kelleher (Waikato), Derek Maisey (Waikato), Dave Duley (Waikato), Sean Hohneck (Waikato), Deacon Manu (Waikato), Tom Willis (Waikato), Scott Linklater (Waikato), Ben Castle (Bay of Plenty), Simms Davison (Bay of Plenty), Sione Lauaki (Auckland).

Out: Tony Philp, Glenn Taylor (both retired), Shayne Austin, Rhys Duggan, Kevin Senio, Paul Miller, Reece Robinson, Chresten Davis, David Briggs, Tevita Taumoepeau, Taufa'ao Filise, Greg Smith, Shane Carter, Aleki Lutui (all no contract).

Prospects: Should go a lot better than last season, which isn't saying a lot. They have a more athletic, fitter, pack this year and shape as reasonable dark-horse prospects for the top four if injuries don't strike.