Keep calm, Piri’s off - no regrets

Piri Weepu embarks on a new chapter when he departs for London Welsh this week. The former All Blacks halfback sat down with Liam Napier to reflect on his NZ rugby career.

CHEEKY HORI isn’t exactly a term of endearment. It’s not an appealing nickname to many people. Yet it seems fitting that’s how Piri Weepu wants to be remembered. Only he could label himself with such a blunt title and have it stick. Translated, he’s a down-to-earth Maori lad who enjoys good banter and a laugh. At times a cult figure during his upand-down career, Weepu never got swept up in the hype. Family always comes first and that ensures he remains grounded.

Even in the most dire situations, Weepu can lighten the mood. His willingness to be himself offers a refreshing change.

So to hear him open up about his health struggles this year – in particular the shock of suffering a minor stroke – was confronting. It put into perspective what he went through, and why, after many career highlights here, he made the difficult decision to leave New Zealand rugby.

Weepu’s health issues became obvious while he was touring South Africa with the Blues. Initially, he thought it was delayed concussion. Then the migraines started getting worse. They weren’t particularly painful, but wouldn’t stop.

‘‘I thought I might have a tumour or something,’’ he recalls. ‘‘Getting the head scan was a relief. I was happy, but still shocked that I had a minor stroke.

‘‘I’ve got family friends that have had strokes, and for me to go through some of the symptoms in terms of blurred vision, loss of speech and my body not functioning the way it should be . . . that was scary.

‘‘But you’ve got people that have strokes and they’re paralysed on one side of their body, so I was quite lucky that it wasn’t that extreme.’’

In modern rugby, many long traditions have been reined in or replaced. But males displaying emotion in front of their mates – that remains a largely foreign concept. Not just in rugby, either, but in most walks of Kiwi life.

‘‘After all that, the hardest thing was telling my team-mates. It wasn’t easy telling your peers that, especially when one of my best mates [Ma’a Nonu] is sitting in the same room.

‘‘I’m lucky that Mum was able to have a 10-second moment and then tried to turn it into a joke to cheer us both up. That’s how our family functions. Rather than moping about things we try to Debut for Wellington against Jimmy Cowan, the then-New Zealand Colts halfback. Being selected in the Hurricanes squad, winning the Junior World Cup in Scotland and making his debut on the All Blacks’ end-of-year tour in Cardiff, all in 2004. Claiming the Ranfurly Shield as Wellington captain. Making the 2006 Super Rugby final with the Hurricanes, being knocked out and not remembering the rest of the game. World Cup success in 2011. BIGGEST INFLUENCES: Mum, dad, uncle, older brother. Wayne Smith for investing time. Mick Byrne for improving his skill set. Sir Graham Henry for his cheeky banter. mock each other and keep each other happy, so we worry about making sure everything is OK.’’

Weepu had been through injuries before. In 2010, he broke his leg and thought his World Cup hopes were dashed. While making his comeback with a plate in his leg, he feared it could break again at any moment. This time was different, though.

‘‘I thought ‘is this really going to affect me for the rest of my life?’ It wasn’t looking good.’’

The heart scare was just one descent in Weepu’s rollercoaster career; the unlikely World Cup hero one minute, vilified for his seemingly constant weight battles the next.

Wellington’s Wainuiomata will always be home, and so leaving the Hurricanes in 2011 proved another life-changing decision.

‘‘Leaving home was one of the hardest things to do. There were troubles at the time with the Hurricanes . . . it was trying something different and challenging myself a bit more by getting away from home and getting away from my family, who I’m very close with.

‘‘My motto, and I’ve learnt it from being a professional, is you can only control yourself. You Pressure player: Weepu was crucial to the World Cup success. can’t control other people’s opinion. Everybody has one.

‘‘People can shoot you down for your weight, fitness . . . the usual. You can turn it around and use it as motivation, as I have most of my career. That’s what I’ve been trying to do – to prove people wrong.’’

Regrets? Weepu has none. He would love to convert any of the numerous finals Wellington made into championships. And he might possibly tweak the responses to his first interview after making the All Blacks. Saying his dream was to make the Kiwis rugby league team didn’t go down so well.

Then again, he was just being typically honest. He grew up in a league household and, like many siblings, wanted to emulate his older brother, who played for the Junior Kiwis and Manly in the NRL.

Playing the rival code, Weepu was the black sheep of the whanau.

‘‘Dad had to learn all the rules – he still doesn’t know them now after all these years. That was the dream growing up. I wouldn’t want to change it. Not everyone is going to have a perfect career.’’

Moving to Oxford, and away from his children, is the next challenge. Weepu admits putting more distance between himself and his two girls, aged 3 and 4, and son, who turns 2 on New Year’s Eve, will weigh on him. But the pay packet should also enable him to provide for their futures. ‘‘Not being able to watch them grow is a sacrifice I’ve had to make the last two or three years. Hopefully that helps them grow. I’m not saying I’m going to be the greatest role model, but at least I can do everything possible to help them.

‘‘I’ve been playing Super Rugby for 11 years. If there’s any time to try it, that’s now. It’s my only chance to see what their competition is like. It’s going to be tough. I’m not going to have all my immediate family around. But it’s a chance to get away from all that and to see what the world is like.’’

After everything he’s been through, no-one will begrudge Weepu some fun.