Chiefs stalwart Liam Messam is set to play club rugby in Rotorua this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Chiefs stalwart Liam Messam is set to play club rugby in Rotorua this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Imagine showing up for a Baywide Premier 2 rugby game to see a Chiefs stalwart and former All Black lining up for the opposition.
That will be the case for Rangiuru on Saturday,with the Chiefs' most capped player, Liam Messam, set to line up for Marist St Michael's at Marist Park in Rotorua.
Messam is up there with Rotorua's most successful sporting exports. As a child he played junior rugby for Marist St Michael's before being one of many rising stars in the Rotorua Boys' High School first XV in his teens.
Marist St Michael's coach, Mike Lewis, said it was "really awesome" to have Messam in the line up for the weekend.
"Liam registered for the club at the start of the season - the Chiefs let the players sign up for a club if they want to and release them when they think the time is right. I guess the June [international] test break is a good chance for them to let him play, so it's really neat.
"I could be wrong but I don't think we've had an All Black that's played senior rugby for us. Liam played his juniors here but this will be his first senior game," Lewis said.
He expected Messam's presence to give the other players a boost of energy.
"They will hopefully just hammer in and do the same things we've been doing week in, week out, and use the buzz as energy and excitement and take that into the game."
Liam Messam at Rotorua International Stadium during the round 12 Super Rugby match between the Chiefs and the Jaguares. Photo / Getty Images
He said he would talk to Messam about how many minutes he could and wanted to play, but joked that he "probably" has the credentials to make the starting lineup.
"Hopefully we get a big crowd down there at Marist Park. It's a good chance for our supporters to see one of their idols."
After round one of the Baywide competition, Marist St Michael's were relegated to Division 1. However, they were bumped up to Premier 2 due to Paroa Rugby Club being unable to field a development team.
Lewis said everyone at the club felt for Paroa, but now that they had the opportunity to play Premier 2 rugby they wanted to make the most of it. They beat Arataki 25-17 in their first Premier 2 game last weekend.
"It was a bit of a rollercoaster week really. It was our own fault that we ended up in Div 1 because we left points on the table all over the place throughout the first round.
Liam Messam scores a try for the Maori All Blacks during a test match against the British and Irish Lions at Rotorua International Stadium. Photo / File
"It's nothing you really want to hear about a club like Paroa, it's no good for anyone really. But, when Bay of Plenty Rugby asked if we wanted to go up it's sort of a no-brainer, the players pretty much unanimously said they wanted to do it. Once we got the opportunity, we really wanted it and it gave the boys a big boost on Saturday," he said.
The team's captain, Todd Canning, said it would be "pretty special" to play alongside Messam.
"It'll be cool to have some experience there to learn from. I suppose he'll have an aura you get from playing international footy. You look up to those guys, so it'll be special to play alongside someone like that.
"I think it will lift the team and there'll certainly be a few more people down at the ground as well," Canning said.
