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Hawke's Bay Magpies skipper Danny Lee, by his own admission, wasn't holding his breath.
With his broken leg in a cast, the 31-year-old was "planted firmly" on the couch of his Havelock North home when Hurricanes assistant coach Aussie McLean phoned him on Tuesday afternoon, and half an
hour later Blues coach David Nucifora broke the good news.
"It was a bang, bang type of thing - you'd missed out on the Hurricanes but the Blues have drafted you, so there wasn't a lot time to be down about the first message. You don't expect it but for a message to come like that is something special," a delighted Lee said yesterday.
With a TV camera honing in on him and his family, the former All Black grinned when asked whether he had done the full circle in Super rugby - starting as fill-in, non-contract player for the Hurricanes franchise before securing his first contract with the Chiefs and then the Highlanders before returning to roost with the Kelt Capital Magpies two seasons ago.
"I wasn't really involved with the Hurricanes and that was my first team. I got called in as a replacement in 1997 for Jon Preston and took the field in the last 10 minutes or so and that was it. I was with them the next year for a couple of weeks but I didn't get on the park."
He then moved to Counties-Manukau to play first division rugby and got into the Chiefs squad (from 1999) but migrated to Otago for three seasons when Counties-Manukau were relegated.
"That's four teams, so I suppose that's the nature of professional rugby and to further yourself as a player you've got to move in some cases."
Eight Magpies made the Super 14 cut. Zac Guildford, Michael Johnson and Hika Elliott are bound for Wellington while Lee and lock Bryn Evans join the Blues. Clint Newland has been cast as Carl Hayman's successor at the Highlanders, Ben Batger is in the Waratahs squad and Tim Fairbrother, the Lions' Air NZ Cup loan player, is in the Canes' equation.
The hard-luck players were Jason Shoemark, Mat Berquist and George Naoupu, who made only the Hurricanes' wider training group.
The media and pundits had written off Lee and the old-timer's tag didn't sit too comfortably around his neck.
"I suppose I'm getting a bit older but there are, I suppose, a lot of older guys like me floating around. Look at the English team and there some are guys who are a lot older than me."
Lee prides himself on his fitness.
"I don't think age is a factor but people in the paper and on TV try to make it into a factor."
But he agreed that while his faith in his ability had not waned he didn't fancy his chances: "I didn't really expect it because I knew the Hurricanes would have their spots sewn up, but to be involved somewhere along the line in the country - yeah, I was stoked."
Wife Hayley said: "Daniel kept telling me 'I've done my dash with Super 14 and I won't make it'.
"I said 'you're playing pretty well, so you might. Look at who's there and there aren't many decent ones (halfbacks)'. Yes, I did (think he'd make it), but I'm biased and rugby is so political and we've been let down some other times."
- HAWKE"S BAY TODAY
