Smyth shines in start to season

DRINK a round to John Smyth's mate. Yes, John Smyth, Wanganui rugby lock. If you've never heard of him, read on.
The 22-year-old from Hawera was going to be on a plane to Ireland in a couple of weeks, heading for a cow milking job in Tuam, near Galway.
That was until his Border Club (Waverley) coach Guy Lennox put his arm on his shoulder and said, "We need you".
"We", of course, is the Steelform Wanganui Heartland rugby team, which started its 2007 campaign by beating East Coast 28-0 at Cooks Gardens on Saturday.
Now, as a game of rugby, it left a bit to be desired, but there were reasons for that.
The ground was like an unruly sloppy sponge, the rain came as promised, the ball became a piece of wet soap, and both teams were still getting to know each other.
That's a prime situation for a mess-up, especially between a lineout thrower and a jumper who was only introduced to his team-mates two Tuesdays ago.
But Smyth was impeccable, took all his own throws, nicked five of the six steals off the East Coast, and hammered his way into rucks and mauls like he had been doing it every day of his life on Cooks Gardens.
So how did Smyth come to be in the Wanganui line-up?
Simply through young Michael Fitzgerald deciding to have a crack in Scotland, and Dan Aldworth signing a late contract with Otago.
That's 2.03m (Aldworth) and 1.98m (Fitzgerald) of lineout height gone out the window at a late stage, leaving the coaching panel of Messrs Milton Haig, Jason Caskey and Lennox with a headache.
They couldn't find anyone else, so Lennox asked Smyth to come to training.
The rest is history albeit very recent.
Smyth and the cow milking will just have to wait. Lennox explains: "He had this job organised in Ireland, but he's found a mate to go over there and do it for three weeks, and he'll finish the season with us."
Coach Haig is highly impressed by the 1.98m 22-year-old.
"He's one of the best lineout forwards I've seen, he hit rucks and mauls and he made a bundle of tackles," he said.
Smyth was happy: "I played okay. It was good to have a wee run, eh."
Playing the complete game was probably not on Smyth's agenda when he started.
"I thought I was just going to get another 60 minutes or so. But the legs still felt pretty good at the end of it. I enjoy a bit of wet weather."
Smyth used to play for the Southern Club in south Taranaki, and this was his second season with Border, and he caught caught coach Lennox's eye and Lennox made the offer.
"I originally told him no then he rang me up again and asked me to come down and see what it felt like down here. I was originally going to Ireland to milk cows in Tuam," said Smyth.
"I was meant to be going in three weeks, but I've put that on hold and I'm sending someone else over the do the job until I get there."
That's his un-named mate.
So drink that round to him young Smyth is worth the effort.