23 BATTLE OF BRAD
When Brad Shields had to turn down his All Blacks call-up at the end of last year, it was because he told the selectors he wasn’t committed to staying in New Zealand through to the next World Cup.
It was no surprise, then, that in early 2018 he announced he had signed with Wasps and would be leaving after Super Rugby.
He also revealed, which again wasn’t a surprise, that England coach Eddie Jones had already been in contact with him…hinting that a call-up to the national team – for which he was already qualified to play for through his heritage – wouldn’t be far away.
What did surprise, however, was that the call-up came in June. England wanted Shields to be in the squad that they took to South Africa for a three-test series. And so ensued a legal battle as to whether he could be released or not.
New Zealand Rugby initially tried to block the move saying they didn’t have to release him but after 10 days of wrangling, they backed down and Shields, having not yet played in England or met of any his international team-mates, was on his way to the Republic where he won his first cap o the bench.