Rugby: Blues said no thanks to Spencer

Carlos Spencer. Photo / Getty Images

Circle May 8 in your diary and set the alarm for 5am - that's when the team that offered Carlos Spencer a Super 14 lifeline meets the team that denied him.

It is almost too unreal to comprehend. The 34-year-old Spencer, the spark that ignited three Super rugby titles, playing for the competition's biggest underachiever against Stephen Brett, the man the Blues chose to bank on ahead of Spencer.

It could be a beautiful reunion but what it won't be, according to Spencer, is a grudge match.

Although he would have liked to come back and finish his Super rugby career with the only franchise he had played for, he does not spend his spare time sticking pins into voodoo dolls in the likeness of the Blues and New Zealand Rugby Union officials who rebuffed his advances.

"We had little talks but that's all it was, small talk," Spencer told the Herald.

"We put out a hint that I was quite keen to come back but, you know, there was no keen interest from back home so we flagged it.

"I wasn't too disappointed. I always said when I left New Zealand that it was unlikely that I would ever go back and play so it's just one of those things.

"One door closes and another one opens."

More specifically, the door to the Lions' den, Ellis Park, opened.

"It was a spur of the moment thing really," Spencer said. "It came up just before Christmas.

"They approached me and I was pretty excited about the opportunity to get into Super 14 again and, of course, there was the coaching side of things. It's something I've always thought about doing after rugby."

Spencer's deal takes in two Super rugby seasons with the Lions - he is seen as the ideal replacement for Andre Pretorius, who has signed for the Western Force - and a Currie Cup campaign where he will double as skills coach.

"To get a coaching job during the Currie Cup was a bonus. That's pretty much what attracted me to going back to Super 14 - to play the rugby and to get that coaching experience.

"It was absolutely perfect timing for me. I'm coming towards the end of my career and to have another season of Super 14 and do some coaching is ideal.

"I'm looking at this long term as well, not just the next couple of years. If anything comes up afterwards I would be more than happy to stay on and plan my future over there."

It is, according to initial reports at least, a nice little earner. When the news first broke that Spencer was headed for the republic, there were rumours that it was the most lucrative deal in South African rugby history, although the actual figure has always remained elusive.

"I don't know about that," Spencer said when asked whether it was a record contract. "I don't where you fellas get your figures from."

At the very least, however, it is nice to know you're still valued, even as the career clock winds down.

"Definitely. It's always nice to have money thrown at you when you're 34 years old, but that wasn't the main motivation for me - it's to play good rugby, to play it back in the Super 14 and help out a team that has obviously struggled in the Super 14."

That last point was also the one thing Spencer replayed in his mind when weighing up the offer.

The Lions have little to recommend themselves on the playing side, and at his vintage, does Spencer want to be spending 80 minutes each week back-pedalling?

"If I'm being honest it was [a concern]. You always have a few queries about joining a team that is struggling.

"But hopefully I can go some way to helping them turn things around, improve and reach their goals.

"I'm not going there expecting to perform bloody miracles, but hopefully with my experience I can help them reach some realistic goals."