Scraps: to me’
‘I am definitely sad to be leaving... I just feel like it is my time to focus on family. Last year with the long tour (to the northern hemisphere), it really took a toll on family time and that sort of thing.’
KARL TU’INUKUAFE
of my grandparents were not here to see it.’’
Tu’inukuafe never got his jollies by trying to be a bully on the field. With his massive build he could have intimidated opponents with a foul-mouthed tirade, a death-stare or a subtle jab with the point of his elbow or fist.
The argy-bargy doesn’t appeal: ‘‘I am a pretty relaxed guy. I don’t fall in (to the trap) of trying to get all hyped-up by guys trying to push and shove, it doesn’t really affect me.
‘‘I don’t try to be something that I’m not. Most of the time I am the guy that is trying to stop the fights. No-one really ever gave me problems. If they wanted to, I wouldn’t do anything. But I found everyone was pretty nice to me.’’
When deciding whether to sign the three-year deal with Montpellier, Tu’inukuafe reflected on the back injury that bothered him for about 18 months before he had surgery in December.
He had to take up to six pills a day to help manage the pain, and while going through the recovery process ahead of the Super Rugby season for the Blues, he decided he needed to make a big call.
The disappointment of missing the 2019 World Cup squad played a part in that.
‘‘That was pretty gutting for me. If something happened next year and I didn’t make the World Cup team again, I would be kicking myself that I didn’t take my chances with what options there were overseas.
‘‘So I talked to my wife and we thought it was the right decision.’’
The call to All Blacks coach Ian Foster, to let him know his career was over, revealed he was wanted for the squad to play Ireland in July.
It was a long goodbye. Tu’inukuafe thought his appearance as a replacement in Auckland really was the end. An injury to Aidan Ross ahead of the decider in Wellington, however, meant he was again required to sit on the bench despite being bothered by a knee issue that flared-up during Super playoffs.
‘‘But we also called in (Ethan) de Groot because my knee was playing up and I told them I didn’t think I could play.
‘‘But because de Groot only got called the day before the third game they were like ‘oh, well, he doesn’t know any of the moves, so if you could play the 5 or 10 minutes’.’’