Welltravelled centre eager for Old Golds to get into Mead Cup Heartland Championship
HAYDEN Todd is used to a commute but he outdid himself a few weeks ago.
The North Otago midfielder is based in Cromwell, from where he travels to Kurow during the club season and Oamaru when he is on duty for the Old Golds in the Heartland Championship.
Punctuality is generally not an issue as he is the manager at Truss Tech and can excuse himself early if he needs to get on the road for training.
But there was a twist ahead of the televised game against HorowhenuaKapiti recently when cameras showed Todd hurriedly coming out of the Oamaru grandstand and taking a seat on the bench — unusual, as he had been listed to start.
It turned out he had just arrived back in New Zealand after a whistlestop work trip to the United States, where he and a couple of company directors had visited Houston and Columbus, Ohio, before (well, that was the plan) arriving home in plenty of time for the rugby game.
‘‘We’d ducked away over there to have a look at a bit of an exhibition with a few machines and stuff,’’ Todd said.
‘‘It was all looking good. We were coming back on time, and I was all set to start the game.
‘‘I’d gone for a couple of sneaky runs in the States so I was feeling pretty good, and I’d had a bit of a snooze on the plane.
‘‘But when we got back, I think it was the opening of caravan season or something. There were caravans left, right and centre on the road, which made the journey from the airport a bit longer.’’
Todd (29) enjoyed seeing a television clip later in the day that showed his teammates walking out of the dressing room just as he wandered past in the
background to get changed.
Commitment to travel has been a given for the strapping back since he accepted an offer from North Otago coach Jason Forrest to mix his club season — starting with Cromwell and finishing with Kurow — so he could play for the Old Golds.
‘‘I was at a bit of a stalemate with my rugby when Forrie gave