Third time lucky for Nehe ‘‘My mindset was the biggest thing I had to deal with and overcome.’’ Nehe Milner-skudder
Milner-skudder resilient after many setbacks
Hopefully the third time’s the charm for Nehe Milner-skudder.
Two lots of shoulder surgery have put paid to the wing’s previous incarnations as an All Black. Now picked again for the first time since his most recent dislocation, against South Africa in Cape Town last October, the 27-year-old returns a very resilient character.
‘‘I was pretty pumped. It’s been another rollercoaster, the last year or so, and when Shandy [All Blacks manager Darren Shand] read the team out, and my name featured, I was pretty pumped and had a big smile on my face. So no, bloody excited,’’ Milnerskudder said of his emotions, after being picked to play Argentina in Nelson tomorrow.
Manawatu favourite Milnerskudder suffered his first shoulder injury while on Super Rugby duty for the Hurricanes. That saw him sit out most of 2016, before he broke bones in his foot early last year. He was three tests matches back into his All Blacks’ comeback, when he dived on a ball at Newlands and knew immediately what had happened.
‘‘Probably the second time round was a little bit harder in terms of ‘oh bugger, here we go again’,’’ he said.
‘‘But then, at the same time, using the experiences and what I went though the first time round sort of helped. My mindset was the biggest thing I had to deal with and overcome, so I had all the right people around me to put my rehab [in place] so it was just about staying positive.
‘‘It’s such a good feeling to know all that hard work and those tough times, you get through them and you get out the other end.’’
The matter-of-fact advice of his mother, Heneriata, didn’t hurt either: ‘‘Don’t rush and listen to the experts.’’
Milner-skudder’s positivity and work ethic didn’t escape team-mates, such as Hurricanes and All Blacks flanker Ardie Savea.
‘‘Nehe’s probably the most professional guy I’ve met and every time I’ve seen him, he’s always in the gym doing his rehab. After trainings he’s in there doing his rehab. Guys like that you look to for inspiration,’’ Savea said after being named to start at openside tomorrow.
Listed at 1.8-metres and 90kg, Milner-skudder might not be that big in reality. A bit more size wouldn’t hurt, reckons All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, but it isn’t essential.
‘‘What he’s doing is inspiring young kids to say you can still make it as an All Black at my size and I kind of like that,’’ Hansen said.
He gives away a bit of height and weight to fellow All Blacks wings Rieko Ioane, who clocks in at 102kg and 1.89m, and Waisake Naholo (102kg and 1.86m) who’ll wear the No 11 jumper tomorrow. Milner-skudder was even asked yesterday about how he and Naholo compared as athletes and in their on-field roles.
‘‘Obviously quite a few subtle differences between myself and Waisake but, nah, nothing really changes too much,’’ he said.