Sevens star goes bush
Two weeks of isolation could turn into months for sevens fullback Ngarohi McGarveyBlack, and the frustration is building. Zoe¨ George reports.
At the foothills of the Urewera mountains in Ruatoki is a hut that is surrounded by lush bush teeming with kereru¯ , tui and ruru.
There New Zealand Sevens fullback Ngarohi McGarveyBlack is in isolation, by himself.
He’s been in lockdown for weeks now and while it’s ‘‘home’’, and a Bay of Plenty paradise place that once housed his great-grand parents, the walls are starting to close in.
‘‘You can’t get out and go for a run. It’s taking a toll on the mind,’’ he said.
There’s only so much wood to be chopped, weights to be lifted, online games to be played and walks that can be taken around his parents’ dairy farm.
While he is by himself, he’s not totally alone. His parents also live on the property and have been helpful in keeping him focused.
‘‘They are making sure I see the big picture and what benefit it has,’’ he said.
‘‘But it’s the little things . . . like driving to your mate’s and saying hello, or even just going up the road to train or going into town to get some food; it’s all different and it’s kind of hard.’’
Isolation has put a dent in McGarvey-Black’s spectacular season on the field.
He was named player of the final in the side’s tournament wins in Cape Town and Hamilton and then followed it up with a successful campaign in Vancouver as the All Black Sevens went to the top of the World Sevens leaderboard.
Preparations were tracking well for Tokyo 2020. Olympic
Gold was in the team’s sight. But everything stalled when the side was forced into isolation after returning from Canada.
They’d played and had beaten Australia in the final, but a cloud settled over the side as the Australians began to be tested for Covid-19. The New Zealand team was given the all clear the day the rest of the country went into isolation.
What was to be only 14 days by himself could now turn into months.
Every day team management are touching base to make sure ‘‘we’re all good’’ and McGarveyBlack has access to sports psychologists and mental skills coaches.
The players are used to mental pressure, representing their country on the world stage.
‘‘That’s the beauty of coming home,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not an All Blacks Sevens player when I come home. I’m just me.
‘‘No one really puts me on a pedestal. I don’t like being put up on that pedestal.’’
But isolation is harder than representing his country.
‘‘To be honest, I never thought I say that,’’ he said.
‘‘I miss . . . playing rugby with the boys out on the paddock and representing our country in the sport we play.’’
Post-isolation is still
uncertain for McGarvey-Black.
He’s expecting to hear more from management in the coming weeks about where to from here for the side.
Details about pay are due any day. Staff at New Zealand Rugby have already faced a pay cut, the players will be next.
He’s also on a year-to-year contract, like many of his team mates. It was due for renewal later in the year, following the Olympics.
2020 was his time to shine at the Games, if he was selected. The side was due to be announced only a month before the start of Tokyo 2020.
But the announcement was made in late March that the
Games were to be postponed for 12 months.
He’s hoping he’ll still have the opportunity in 2021 to represent New Zealand in a city he hasn’t had a chance to experience yet.
‘‘The Olympics itself . . . is a goal of every athlete . . . no matter what [sport] you play.
‘‘Just being part of it, seeing the village, seeing the athletes you look up to, you still look up to now. That would have been cool to see them.
‘‘Just to be there in person and witness the vibe.’’
And the food. ‘‘Everyone talks about the food,’’ he laughed.
The Olympics is a far cry from his early days playing ripper rugby in bare feet, with the cold nipping at his toes.
‘‘Frosty feet, playing at 8am before under sevens played. It was so cold,’’ he said.
‘‘I didn’t want to go to rugby because I didn’t want to play in bare feet.’’
It was a common sight in junior rugby, mainly because the boots with metal sprigs were considered ‘‘dangerous’’. He didn’t get his first pair until he was 10.
He’s glad he stuck with rugby though and it wasn’t until finishing at Rotorua Boys’ High School and turning down a contract to play for Bay of Plenty, choosing to going to university instead, that playing Sevens crossed his mind.
He still remembers when he got the call-up to the national side. A training camp for the wider squad had finished and he’d popped down to a nearby ground to watch his cousin train.
‘‘I saw the coach’s name pop up on my phone. I tried to not act excited,’’ he said.
‘‘I left the phone to ring and didn’t answer the first time. He rang me again. I was just too excited.’’
McGarvey-Black tried to keep his cool, but that was shortlived as he called his family to tell them he was in.
‘‘They were really proud,’’ he said.
‘‘There was a cheer of joy – it was cool.’’
He’s now in his third year with the side and never thought ‘‘in a million years’’ that a kid from a small settlement would be pulling on the black jersey, travelling around the world and getting paid to do it.
In the last tournament in Vancouver he played in front of a 28,000 strong crowd. London and Paris were next on the list before Tokyo.
But instead of the roar of the fans, it’s the call of the ruru that punctuates his isolation.
Hopefully that won’t last too much longer.
‘‘I miss . . . playing rugby with the boys out on the paddock and representing our country in the sport we play.’’
Ngarohi
McGarvey-Black