No regrets from McNicholl in Canty swansong match
Johnny McNicholl is open-minded enough to acknowledge rugby is just about chasing an oval ball on a patch of grass.
The wing/fullback isn’t saying Canterbury’s date with Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup premiership final in Christchurch on Saturday night isn’t a big deal. Because it is.
He’s also not implying he doesn’t want to leave Christchurch with memories of celebrating another title win. Because he does.
But, win or lose, McNicholl will still be able to board a flight next Wednesday to earn a decent wage with his new Welsh team Scarlets.
Who knows? Maybe the 26-yearold, who has signed with the Llanelli-based club through until mid-2019, may also achieve his goal of being selected for the Welsh national side once he has fulfilled his residency commitments.
McNicholl will meet with his girlfriend, Grace Brown, when he arrives in Wales next week. She won’t be at AMI Stadium to watch him make his final appearance for Canterbury because she is in Greece, using her skills to assist refugees who have been forced to flee Syria. Conversations with her partner on the other side of the world have put him in the picture, and where rugby really does sit in the scale of things.
‘‘It does put things in perspective doesn’t it?’’ McNicholl says.
‘‘I think I have got an important final coming up, but there are plenty of things going on in the world that are much bigger than rugby.’’
Still, a win would be nice wouldn’t it?
The final will mark McNicholl’s 60th match for Canterbury since his first-class debut in 2012, a number that dovetails nicely into the 40 appearances he also made for the Crusaders.
Beating Tasman would mean plenty, for a number of reasons.
Canterbury, thanks in no small part to a scrum that chewed-up their opponents with ruthless efficiency, thumped their upper South Island neighbours 45-14 when they met in a round-robin game in August; but that result needs to be kept in context; everyone was still adjusting to the breakdown trial laws, and Tasman lost several players in the first half with injury.
McNicholl couldn’t think of a better opponent to meet in his last game on New Zealand soil. He and Tasman midfielder Kieron Fonotia, who has signed with Welsh club Ospreys, formed a friendship at the Crusaders and will meet in the airport boarding lounge next Wednesday.
‘‘We spoke to each other a couple of weeks ago and said we could potentially be in the final together – shall we book the same flight?’’ McNicholl said.
‘‘We are both excited about this. One of us will have bragging rights. Hopefully me.’’
A win would result in McNicholl winning his fourth provincial title. He recalls the 2012 and 2015 finals, the most recent when Tom Taylor was given a top send-off with a win over Auckland, with some fondness.
McNicholl’s displays for the Crusaders this year were impressive. While left wing Nemani Nadolo, now playing in France, never recaptured the form of previous seasons, a confident McNicholl was often one of the best in the backline.
‘‘This year I felt I felt I finally did the Crusaders jersey justice and played quite good rugby,’’ McNicholl reflected. ‘‘I enjoyed it, probably, the most. I put it down to a lack of stress.
‘‘I didn’t really mind making mistakes so I went and played freely knowing it was my last season in red and black and that I just had to give it my all. I didn’t really have any worries. I loved it.’’
Which leads to the next question. Does he wish he was staying? No, he says.
‘‘I was at peace when I made the decision to leave. I went over everything before I signed. I definitely don’t have any regrets.’’