Opinion: Family first right call by Bateman

Jared Smith

I remember very clearly the day my phone rang in the Greymouth Star offices in 2007 with the new media manager of the Canterbury Crusaders on the other end.

As a former member of the Fourth Estate himself, this keen official explained the Crusaders wanted to have a better connect with their supporters in the franchise's wider provinces, so would I be interested in ghost-writing a weekly column with former West Coaster Tim Bateman.

After leaving Greymouth, the 19-year-old Bateman had emerged well polished from the industrious Christchurch Boys' High School as yet another promising playmaker, following in the footsteps of Andrew Mehrtens, Daniel Carter, Stephen Brett (whose presence saw Bateman convert from first-five to midfield), and in later years his current Hurricanes team mate Marty Banks.

For the next three months, with the exception of one week where a night out with the lads in South Africa was a little more important than a ringing phone (which he sheepishly called back and apologised for when home in Christchurch), Bateman and I talked every week about how the boy from Blaketown was finding life inside the strongest professional club in world rugby at that time.

What became clear to me in our conversations, which covered everything from Auckland vs Canterbury rivalries through to what novels giant lock Chris Jack liked to read on the team bus, was that Bateman was 19 going on 40.

Already a father to a baby girl with his partner Laura, herself a keen netballer, he was juggling his rugby career with a fulltime law degree at the University of Canterbury, determined to be prepared for whatever life threw at him, on the field and off.

Fast forward to 2012 and I was now with another media organisation in Taranaki, where there proved a great opportunity for a reunion at New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium after a Hurricanes match.

Recognising me instantly, Bateman launched straight back into conversation, but not about his Maori All Black honours or how his two years with Japan's Coca-Cola West Red Sparks had been, but rather life with his beautiful wife and now two young daughters in Shyla and Mylie, along with how much he was enjoying living in Wellington.

Bateman was always a man first and a rugby player second, although with his God-given gifts and undeniable work ethic it was often a close run finish.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see the 26-year-old's announcement this week of his decision to take his family back to Japan and the Red Sparks after Laura's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2013.

Not likely to get the medical treatment they wanted this early in the disease's progression while remaining in New Zealand, Bateman said his decision to leave his concrete position with the Hurricanes was hard but ultimately "a no-brainer".

"It turned out that Coke, where we're going back to [the city] is literally [where] the lead specialist for MS in Japan, as in Fukuoka.

"Literally, where we lived last time is about 100m down the road.

"I get a lot more time at home, over there, than I do here, so I'll be able to help out a lot more. It just seemed like the right thing to do really."

I have always taken a lot a pride in watching Bateman since those early days in 2007.

I cheered those Ranfurly Shield-winning tries he scored for Canterbury, and smiled at his copybook tackling of a rampaging Ma'a Nonu after every reporter picked him as the potential weak link in the Hurricanes backline.

Perhaps selfishly, I wished a few New Zealand midfielders just might follow the example of our first-fives and pull up lame so the former Coaster could claim just one precious All Black jersey, although I was quite content to see his maturity and tactical nous elevate him to the Maori team's captaincy on their tour of North America.

But nothing makes me prouder than the reminder Bateman offered this week that however successful we are in our chosen vocation, those bright lights will never warm you like the home fire.

Life is all about priorities and family comes first, always.