With the strain of being away
here, you feel useless.’’
The thought of jumping on a plane and heading home to see his family has crossed Todd’s mind but he understands the bigger picture of why he’s in Japan.
Todd knows better than most that to be in his situation is a rarity – in 2011 he was an ‘observer’ at All Blacks trainings during the final two weeks of the tournament as New Zealand sweated on the foot of thencaptain Richie McCaw.
Four years later, Todd was overlooked for the 2015 World Cup, the All Blacks coaching staff instead opting to take Sam Cane.
This time round though, it was third time’s the charm and Todd is relishing every moment he has in the All Blacks camp.
Todd says being a parent has helped him deal with difficult situations during his career.
‘‘Being a parent, it teaches a lot of valuable life lessons about how to deal with difficult situations.
‘‘It is frustrating at times or stressful at times, but . . . the better you can handle and deal with those situations, that’s what your kids see and what your kids learn, so it’s important as a parent that you are in control and showing the children how you want to act and respond to different situations.’’
A fair amount of responsibility comes with being an All Black in the public eye, but Todd says being a good father to his children, especially to his daughters, is what’s important to him.
‘‘We want to raise strongminded daughters, strongminded women and teach them what is right and wrong and what’s acceptable and what’s not.’’