I didn’t want to leave Crusaders, says Douglas
Whetu Douglas had barely left New Zealand and he’d begun plotting his return to Christchurch.
The 27-year-old loose forward didn’t want to board the plane to Italy last year in the first place, not after he made a name for himself filling in for injured Crusaders No 8 Kieran Read.
But Douglas had already signed with Pro 14 club Treviso, and had no choice but to honour the contract and reluctantly farewell the team he had fallen for in April last year.
Fast forward 16 months, and he’s back, having signed two-year deals with the Crusaders and Canterbury, who he will cocaptain with Mitch Drummond in this year’s Mitre 10 Cup.
‘‘It’s hard to find anything not to love,’’ Douglas said of being back.
He had the chance to play another year under Kiwi coach Kieran Crowley in Italy, but opted not to take up the secondyear option of his contract.
Douglas and his family returned in June, and played for the Crusaders against the French Barbarians and Western Force during the international window.
Sanzaar rules – teams are required to forward a list of players who will participate in the playoffs at the start of the season – meant he wasn’t eligible for selection during their playoff run. Not that it stopped him lapping up title number nine.
‘‘Extremely special. Last year I wasn’t able to finish with them, but this year I was able to be a part of that part of the season. To experience it, I think it’s only going to do good for me, not only for my rugby but also for the cocaptaincy.’’
Rotorua-born Douglas’ ultimate goal is to make the All Blacks, a road which starts with tonight’s Mitre 10 Cup opener against Tasman in Blenheim.
Douglas was on Wednesday named co-captain with Drummond for the season, as Canterbury chase their fourth straight title, and 10th in the past 11 years.
‘‘I’m super stoked. But I know it’s a bit of a responsibility with the history of the union and all,’’ Douglas said.
‘‘Drummo and I met before the announcement. When the question was put to us, we just decided we’ll tackle this head on. And when things come up, we do it as as a team and make sure we front it together.’’
Both Canterbury and Tasman have included a stack of Super Rugby players for the rematch of the 2016 and 2017 final, although Canterbury coach Joe Maddock has rested wing George Bridge, who played more minutes than any other Crusader this year.