A Whoppa of a journey
Jamie Mackintosh has jammed plenty of colourful adventures into his rugby career since securing his one and only test cap for the All Blacks in Edinburgh in 2008.
Holed up at his parents’ 12-acre property in Wanaka after Covid-19 forced him to leave his club in Austin, Texas he’s had time to reflect.
Since returning from the United States the 35-year-old has been contemplating his next assignment, and if the Mitre 10 cranks up he would like to join a provincial union as a player or assistant coach.
Southland, the union he represented for 12 years and gave him some of his fondest memories in the sport, is an option but Mackintosh knows from past experience it pays to keep an open mind.
‘‘If nothing comes up I will play for the local footy team here in Wanaka, and spend some time with my parents,’’ he says.
A return to the Austin Gilgronis club later in the year also appeals, health guidelines permitting.
Mackintosh says his body is doing OK, but it’s been punished. There have been 11 operations; shoulders, hips, groin, knee, ankle and feet have received attention, and a disc in his back is giving him gyp.
In addition to getting work with Southland, most as captain, he played for the Highlanders and Chiefs and then headed to the Montpellier and Pau clubs in France. There’s also been a couple of stints in the United States.
As for regrets, he prefers to not look back. Getting just one test cap at 23 years of age, he also played for the All Blacks against Munster in a midweek game in Limerick, was to be his lot.
At the time, big things were expected of the young prop known as Whoppa. His pedigree was outstanding; three years in the New Zealand secondary schools teams, New Zealand under-19 and New Zealand Colts. He captained all three.
Mackintosh heard the talk that his scrummaging required more work, but he says he did everything he could to improve this facet and force his way back into the All Blacks.
‘‘That played on my mind more than anything. Because I know I left no stone unturned and when my scrumming wasn’t going quite right I was doing all sorts of stuff to get myself better.
‘‘I knew it probably just wasn’t meant to be, my pathway back to the All Blacks, which was pretty hard to accept.’’
Many young All Blacks have selfdoubts. He was no different: ‘‘I felt I didn’t deserve to be there, and that I wasn’t good enough.’’
Unfortunately for him, he never got the opportunity to get past that psychological hurdle.
Having heeded All Blacks coach Graham Henry’s advice not to accept the Highlanders captaincy, offered to him by
Glenn Moore, when he got home Mackintosh waited a couple of seasons before taking on that job. He enjoyed it, but looking back realises it was a major job for a young man.
‘‘When you are in a leadership role, that could be up to another eight to 10 hours a week at the training facility to meet with coaches for game plans, planning the week and presenting.’’
Two seasons at the Chiefs were followed by a move to France, and it was at his second club, Pau, where he believed he played his best footy.
Escaping the scrutiny in New Zealand, where he was conscious everyone was discussing why he was being ignored by the national selectors, was a blessing.
‘‘I guess I did enjoy being out of that bubble, being overseas without that pressure without people saying why did he not make the All Blacks? Why did he do this or that?
‘‘I got my confidence back and have really enjoyed the pathway rugby has given me in my life.’’
It was after his brief stint with Montpellier when Scott Wisemantel, now in the Wallabies set-up, asked him to play the Ohio Aviators in the United States. Mackintosh has a lot to thank Wisemantel for.
‘‘I fell back in love with rugby, really,’’ Mackintosh reflects.
‘‘I left New Zealand pretty despondent about rugby and with not much confidence.
‘‘I had a red card for Southland and copped a fair bit of abuse for that. I thought going to the Chiefs might have reinvigorated my All Blacks career. Although things didn’t go as I wanted I still had a pretty amazing experience but I was still a bit down on myself.’’
The move to the US coincided with
‘‘I fell back in love with rugby, really. I left New Zealand pretty despondent about rugby and with not much confidence.’’
Jamie Mackintosh on his overseas travels
Ohio finishing second in the US Pro Rugby competition.
It also fuelled Mackintosh’s desire to keep playing and when former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman asked him to join Pau he returned to France for the next three northern seasons.
There was another link to the All Blacks when he shifted back to the States to play for Austin to play in the Major League Rugby competition before it was shut down because of the pandemic.
Former All Blacks skills coach Mick Byrne is now the director of rugby of the Austin and Los Angeles teams which are receiving significant financial backing from wealthy Aussie entrepreneur Adam Gilchrist (not the cricketer).
Mackintosh compares the competition to the Mitre 10 Cup. Top players are on contracts worth up to $40,000, pre-season ends in January and the tournament runs through to June.
Getting back to the States would also give him a chance to show his appreciation to the people there who helped him understand why he enjoyed the sport so much as a youngster.
‘‘I felt I owed American rugby something back, because it was there that I fell back in love with it [rugby] and made some great friends there.’’