Te Rure considers next step
RUGBY: It only took one day working in an administration job for former Manawatu Turbos first five-eighth Jade Te Rure to realise that he would do anything to get his rugby career back on track.
The 23-year-old, who is recovering from back-to-back knee injuries, is back in New Zealand and still weighing up his options for his next move after Scottish club Edinburgh ended his injuryravaged tenure with them last month.
Te Rure hoped to be given the all-clear to start running next week in the hope that he could return to the rugby field in October.
But exactly where and who for remains unknown.
‘‘What I plan on doing is kind of all up in the air at the moment,’’ Te Rure said.
But it has opened the door for the former New Zealand under 20s playmaker to make a return to New Zealand rugby.
‘‘I would be keen to give it another crack,’’ he said. ‘‘I just have to assess how things are going in the next month or so and what opportunities are available for me.’’
Te Rure’s running game and accurate goal-kicking boot make him an enticing option for teams, but his recent run of injuries may turn international clubs off.
He played 19 games for Manawatu in 2013 and 2014 before linking with Edinburgh, first on a trial basis in late-2014 and then as a fulltime squad member in March last year.
With his Scottish-born grandmother making him eligible to play internationally, the Scotland Rugby Union were involved in negotiating his release from his Turbos contract in 2015.
But the chances of him becoming the latest kilted-kiwi were dashed due to injuries.
He played four games, including two starts, during the 2014-15 season.
And his 2015-2016 season did not even got off the ground after injuring one knee in August and the other in December.
‘‘When I did my other knee I was a bit down in the dumps, but after a week or so I got back on the horse and started to focus on rehab,’’ he said. ’’It has been a tough year and a half.’’
The second knee injury appeared to be the final straw for Edinburgh, with them opting to release Te Rure.
While the injuries have been frustrating, Te Rure said they have not put him off the desire to play professional rugby.
And that has been even stronger since returning to New Zealand three weeks ago and working administration at his aunty’s business, Lavender Blue.
‘‘After coming back to work, I just want to play rugby as long as I can to be honest,’’ he said. ’’It is tough going from a career doing what you love, then coming back and working. I was over it the first day I got back.’’
Te Rure has all the skills to make it in Super Rugby, now he just needs to stay injury free to prove it.