Pushing 40 and back playing Super Rugby
Dan Carter isn’t the only old dog still sniffing around Super Rugby Aotearoa.
There’s Chief Adam Thomson, and Alex Ainley is another player pushing 40 who could feature in the all New Zealand competition, having been called into the Crusaders as injury cover for captain Scott Barrett.
‘‘I had a bit of stick about that,’’ the 38-year-old Ainley said of former Crusader Carter’s well documented decision to provide injury cover for the Blues.
‘‘When he returned, it was like: ‘he’s 38, you should be in there, what are you stuffing around for?’’’
Ainley was in Tauranga at the time, working for an insulation company, measuring up houses and providing quotes.
The former Highlander thought his playing career was done, despite spending a few months in Christchurch for Crusaders pre-season earlier this year.
That was until Crusaders assistant coach Jason Ryan called him last Saturday night.
‘‘I was a couple of beers in, and he sort of twisted my arm,’’
Ainley said. ‘‘It was probably more unexpected than the first phone call to come down [last December for pre-season].’’
Leaving his job wasn’t an issue, and not just because his boss is ‘‘a good bugger’’ who allowed him to play Mitre 10 Cup for Bay of Plenty last year.
Ainley and his family are moving home to Nelson in a few weeks, having spent about a year in the North Island.
‘‘No, I’m not playing for Tasman. This will basically be it,’’ Ainley said before the question could even be asked.
Ainley, of course, is a former Mako captain and has represented the side almost 100 times.
‘‘I say it will be me done, but I’ve said I’m out about three or four times now. So we will see what happens. I will see if the phone rings.’’
Ainley, to put it kindly, is a late bloomer.
Having spent seven years in Italy and Japan playing code, he didn’t earn his first Super Rugby cap until he was 33-years-old.
On the back of an impressive season with Tasman, it was the Highlanders who gave him his first shot in 2015.
He earned eight caps, helping the Dunedin-based side win their maiden Super Rugby title, before playing three more seasons in the south.