Sympathy for axed Franks
Captain Kieran Read elected to give his mate Owen Franks some space following his shock axing from the All Blacks.
Veteran tighthead prop Franks was a major casualty of the All Blacks’ selectors desire to pick more mobile bookends for the World Cup in Japan, with his omission from the 31-man squad ending a magnificent test career that started in 2009 and resulted in him winning 108 caps.
There’s probably no right, or wrong way to communicate with a friend who has been dumped, but Read thought it best not to bother Franks immediately after he learned he had been denied the chance to play his third World Cup.
‘‘I will speak to him, just flick him a text,’’ Read said.
‘‘It’s hard what he will be going through, but we will fully support him.’’
Read and Franks have been watching each other’s backs for more than a decade with the All Blacks and Crusaders, but those days are now numbered.
No-one could say Franks didn’t do everything within his powers to get his body right for his third World Cup.
Rather than have surgery on a damaged shoulder he had stem cell treatment during Super Rugby, returning to cement a starter’s berth late in the season and claim another winner’s medal.
In previous seasons he had to rehabilitate a serious Achilles tendon problem, which forced him to miss the northern tour in 2017.
‘‘That’s tough, I am really feeling for Owen,’’ Read said. ‘‘I know how much he has put into it as a mate. That’s why I am feeling that. But he is the type of man who knows what this team is about, and will give his all whatever way he can.’’
Franks will join English club Northampton later this year, while Read has agreed terms with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz.
Franks’ hopes of playing in the tournament now hinge on specialist tightheads Nepo Laulala, Angus Ta’avao or the versatile Ofa Tuungafasi getting injured, and having to be replaced.
In 2015 loosehead prop Joe Moody received a late call-up when Tony Woodcock and Wyatt Crockett got injured in Britain, with the former playing in the sudden-death games.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen praised the professionalism of Franks, but he wanted players who could be faster around the hard grounds in Japan.
‘‘Unfortunately as the three selectors, we believe the game requires us to have big, mobile No 1s and No 3s and in this case we feel the guys we’ve named are more so than he, therefore we had to make a tough decision,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘Obviously he’s very disappointed, but I won’t go into details about what was said. I’m very respectful of how he coped with it, it’s a mark of the man.’’
Read said Franks deserved to be regarded as one of the greatest players to represent the All Blacks.
‘‘What Steve has said was that there’s so many great players in this country that there’s going to be some really good players [that miss out] and Owen is a great of this game that missed out.
‘‘Not just Owen, but a number of guys I guess. That’s a strength of our squad, so the guys who have the privilege and honour of representing us – we know we have got to turn up and represent us with much pride as we can.
‘‘That can be on us.’’