Old-school Franks stays calm amid all the man-love
Owen Franks often looks like a grim undertaker whenever one of his team-mates scores a try.
Instead of running downfield to slap palms and howl with joy when a Crusaders team-mate has scored, the giant tighthead prop often slowly pivots on his heels and solemnly grinds his way back towards his own half.
Yes, it is old school. Such sombre body language is a reminder of the days when breaking a smile, let alone gesticulating to everyone and nobody after a try, was considered a crime by more earthy types inside the rugby community.
Franks’ reasons for refusing to join the scenes of man-love are simple.
It is all about conserving fuel inside the big engine that drives his 120kg body around the paddock.
‘‘Usually I just want to get back, and get my breath to be honest,’’ Franks says.
‘‘I am definitely not one to celebrate over the top. Most of the time, if I am not right there, I will just waddle back and get ready for the next play.’’
Maybe, just maybe, we will see him get a little more animated if the Crusaders score against the British and Irish Lions tonight.
Grabbing tries isn’t the reason Franks plays professional sport. In 90 tests for the All Blacks he has never scored a five-pointer, the longest drought in test history, and has dotted just twice in 133 Super Rugby games for the Crusaders.
But he is a winner. His war chest includes two World Cup medals, and he has never experienced the despair of being in an All Blacks team that has relinquished the Bledisloe Cup.
Beating the Lions would be special - both with the Crusaders and the All Blacks.
There is something of the unknown in this assignment, because he has never packed down against loosehead prop Mako Vunipola. But Franks, 29, won’t be going in cold against the Englishman. He studies how northern hemisphere front rowers go about their tasks, regularly watching games on TV, and calls big brother and former All Black Ben, now earning his wage with the London Irish club, every week.
‘‘We talk about different scrummaging techniques and things they like to do, and what he has found. I have had good info from him. Obviously, it is a bit more setpiece orientated in England, and that is something I really enjoy.’’
When the Lions last rocked up to Christchurch, Franks was in his final year at Christchurch Boys’ High School and wearing the No 3 jersey for the first XV.
‘‘I didn’t get to see a game but I witnessed the hype in Christchurch ahead of the first test, and I remember training in the gym when the All Blacks came in. That was probably a bigger deal for me to train alongside them.’’
Given the Crusaders have won all their games this season, carving out a 14-0 record, there isn’t likely to a shortage of self-belief against a Lions side captained by Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones.
‘‘The way the season started, where we had two or three games where in the last 20 minutes we won those games in those crucial moments, has built a lot of confidence,’’ Franks noted.
‘‘It gets to those stages of the game now and guys know we the ability to do it and never give up.’’