Rugby: Back to basics after Super 12 hype

By Chris Rattue

For some players, the final whistle in the Super 12 grand final meant the beginning of the international phase of the rugby season and the chance to win a place in the World Cup squad.

For others, it's a case of maybe a bit of a break, and then back to club rugby, university and/or work.

Rugby is probably unique among the world's professional sporting codes, which usually build towards the major club final.

For some of New Zealand's best rugby players, the pinnacle of the season comes in May, six months before the end of the season.

We have selected four players from last Sunday's Super 12 final who have not been selected in the All Black and New Zealand A squads, and asked them what is in store for them during the rest of 1999.

JOHN BLAIKIE

(Otago lock)

The 25-year-old Blaikie gets a very close view of the different paths the players take after the Super 12 season.

One of his flatmates is Highlanders team-mate Anton Oliver, the All Black hooker, although their paths may not cross too often for the rest of the season.

Blaikie, whose other flatmates are fellow Highlanders Duncan Blaikie (his brother) and Simon Maling, plus former Otago lock Justin Cullen, will take a break from rugby for a week or two before lining up for University in the Otago competition.

But Blaikie, who spent five years getting a BSc in biochemistry and nutrition, is also heading back to varsity to do papers in finance.

He has never had a "proper" job because professional rugby came along just as he headed towards gaining his degree.

"I enjoy going back to playing club rugby because it is more relaxed," Blaikie said.

"It is quite hard to readjust at first because the standard is not quite where you are used to it being, but the club competition is pretty strong down here.

"I might get six or seven games and then it will be time for the NPC.

"You never know if you might get a call-up [from the national selectors] but my attitude has always been if it happens, it happens - I'm not going to walk around with my fingers crossed.

"Last year I found I had a bit too much time on my hands after the Super 12. I played quite a bit of golf but I never improved. I've lost the bug.

"I decided I probably had too much time on my hands so this time I'm going to do a couple more varsity papers.

"I'm not too sure what sort of job it might lead to. I haven't quite figured that out yet."

BRENDAN LANEY

(Otago wing)

Laney will head out of Dunedin to catch up with some old mates, and also take a short break from playing before linking up with his Kaikorai club, where he has played since shifting from South Canterbury.

A Christchurch company has taken him on board to help to sell mainly dress gear to sports clubs and the like, although he did not have so much time to devote to the job during the Super 12.

But the 25-year-old Laney, who became engaged to girlfriend, Miranda, in April, is looking forward to attacking his new job with gusto.

"I didn't really do anything after the Super 12 last season and I used to wake up and think 'what the hell am I going to do today'," he said.

"I really enjoy going back to club rugby - after all, it is the place which gave you the chance to go to higher levels.

"You can't relax too much because the club players see Brendan Laney or John Blaikie and if you're not on you're toes they'll axe you.

"But it is actually nice to play without the sort of pressure that builds during the Super 12.

"Don't get me wrong. I love playing in front of the cameras and the crowds. But it is nice to play again where everything you do isn't under so much scrutiny. The old body and mind can only take so much.

"There is also a lot of enjoyment seeing blokes from the Highlanders go on to make the All Blacks, especially seeing new guys like Pita Alatini making it.

"You do feel you have played a part in that. If I'm not doing my job properly, then it is harder for them. We pushed a few guys forward.

"I just hope the All Blacks can handle the pressure and intensity of a long season and bring home the World Cup."

REUBEN THORNE

(Canterbury flanker)

Thorne went extremely close to making the national squads and is expected to be part of the academy side.

After checking how his body has come through the Super 12, he will also return to club rugby with High School Old Boys.

Thorne, aged 24, flats with a couple of people, including Scot John Brown, who is the player-coach of the Woolston soccer side.

Thorne took up cabinetmaking a couple of years ago and works for a company run by former Canterbury lock Chris England.

As with the other players interviewed, he enjoys the more relaxed atmosphere of club rugby for a while, but admits the Super 12 ending is a strange one.

"It's a bit odd really," Thorne said. "You think after winning the title you would get together and really enjoy it with your team-mates, but after a couple of days some blokes have to suddenly head off to the All Blacks.

"I went down to my first club training on Tuesday night and they're a bit short-handed.

"I used to always look forward to playing against blokes from the Canterbury team when they came back to club rugby. I suppose the club players look at people like me in the same way now and I still love trying to contribute to the club."

Since the Super 12 final victory, Thorne has already been out with fellow Crusader Leon MacDonald doing promotional work in schools.

"In the first year of Super 12 I managed to do quite a bit of the cabinetmaking but it's got less and less as the rugby commitments have grown," he says.

"I enjoy flatting with John. I see enough of the rugby guys during the season and it's interesting to watch how someone operates in another sport."

ANGUS GARDINER

(Canterbury flanker)

Gardiner is something of a rarity, as he holds down a steady job - as a physical education teacher - even during the Super 12 season.

The 27-year-old and his wife, Maria, are expecting their first child in three weeks, which means the lull in the rugby season is of secondary importance at the moment.

Three days after the Super 12 final, Gardiner was back at Christchurch Boys' High, where he also coached an under-14 rugby side last year.

"I'd just finished teachers college when professional rugby arrived but I thought since I had gained these skills I still wanted to use them," Gardiner said.

"And when professional rugby arrived it was still a bit of an unknown quantity as to how long the competitions would be, and if it would survive.

"After the first year [when the Crusaders finished last] some of us were almost unemployed anyway.

"I've got a permanent part-time job at the school, although some of the other teachers would probably dispute how many days I work during the season.

"I told them that win, lose, or draw, I wouldn't be back at school for two days after the final. Other priorities. You've got to do these things."

Gardiner intends lining up for his Marist club before Canterbury's NPC campaign gets going.

"There are two distinct parts to the season and I don't look at this period as a let-down," he said.

"The NPC has its own traditions and experiences which are just as enjoyable.

"And it is nice to play during this period without the pressure that is on in Super 12. But in saying that, any one of us sitting and watching now would give our right arm to have the opportunity to be part of the All Blacks or New Zealand A."