Meet Super Rugby’s unluckiest player
You simply wish Geoff Cridge all the best.
Everyone’s got their hard luck stories, but few can compare to his.
A product of the famed Christchurch Boys’ High School and Canterbury systems, Cridge came to the Hurricanes in 2015 with a big reputation. After two years in the New Zealand under-20 team, the 2m-tall, 114kg lock looked destined for an illustrious Super Rugby career.
And while it’s becoming a long career, a succession of serious injuries have ensured Cridge’s highlight reel remains a short one.
Next year will be the 23-year-old’s fifth season as a Hurricane, with eight minutes off the bench against the Southern Kings in 2016 the sum total of his game time. Not only hasn’t Cridge played, he’s rarely even been in contention to play as two anterior cruciate ligament ruptures in his knee, a fractured femur in his leg and shoulder surgery confined him to lonely hours of rehab season after season.
‘‘I was supposed to play a couple of games in my very first year in the team. I went over to South Africa, when Thrushy [Jeremy Thrush] had done something to himself, and then I was meant to play against the Force in Perth on the way home and I hurt my back in the last training session and couldn’t play,’’ Cridge said.
That’s been the story of his life as a Hurricane, with the ACL injuries proving particularly cruel. Both in his left knee, they’ve taken Cridge to the brink. To paraphrase the man, who’s fond of frank language, it’s been a flaming unfortunate run.
‘‘I sort of wanted to give it away this last time. But, at the same time, I enjoy footy and it’s been pretty good for me even though I haven’t played a lot of Super,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve played stuff-all Super but I’ve always been driven to come back and get my body and my knee in good nick. But the next time I pull my boots on and it goes, I’ll just go back
to doing my building. Like, life goes on – it’s one of those things you can’t worry about.’’
Injury permitting, Cridge has at least managed some provincial rugby for Hawke’s Bay over the years. He was Magpie of the year in 2016 and, after 10 months out, eventually produced some decent footy this season.
Like his coaches at the Hurricanes, Cridge has always believed he could play. It’s just that his body has never let him.
‘‘I’ve only had Mitre 10 Cup to get myself rolling. I’d never been injured until I left school and then in my second year out of school I did my knee for the first time and then I’ve had all these injuries in one hit and it’s stunted my learning.’’
Being in the Hurricanes environment means he’s still picked things up, but there’s no substitute for playing. And, if he could just do a bit of that, then he might still become the player everyone’s hoped he would.
‘‘Oh yeah, I definitely believe that. It’s just time. I just haven’t had that time and I think next year could be a pretty big year for me if I can just stay on the park.’’
He wouldn’t mind proving a few folk wrong, too. A country boy from Darfield, who’s halfway through a building apprenticeship, Cridge imagined he’d make his rugby name further south than Wellington and Napier. ‘‘Canterbury said we’re not really looking at you being an ITM Cup [as it was then] sort of lock until you’re around 24, 25, so we’ll just keep you ticking away here and I was, like, ‘stuff this’.’’
The irony is he’ll be 24 in February when, fingers and toes crossed, Cridge could be one of the Hurricanes’ starting locks when they meet the Waratahs in their season-opener.
‘‘Hopefully I don’t get injured pre-season,’’ he said.
‘‘Next year could be a pretty big year for me if I can just stay on the park.’’
Geoff Cridge