All Black Havili opens up on horror health scare: I lost 9kg

Timing is everything in rugby and at the start of this year’s Super Rugby season, Crusaders fullback David Havili seemed to have it nailed.

The three-test All Black was arguably the form player of the competition and as with last year, was again logging big minutes for the defending champions. But offfield timing, or more significantly, off-field health, suddenly deserted the 25-year-old Tasman skipper.

An infection saw Havili hospitalised, with surgery removing 20 centimetres from his bowel.

Fast forward two months and the versatile back says he is slowly building his training load, and rebuilding his body.

“I lost about 9kg and went down to 86, but I’ve been able to put about five back on,” he said.

“It has been seven weeks postsurgery and I’ve just been able to start lifting weights again in the last two weeks.”

The Covid-19 lockdown means the Nelson College old boy has missed minimal rugby, but he says if the game was miraculously given the green light to return tomorrow, he wouldn’t be ready to play.

“It depends on how the body reacts to putting the condition back on and I don’t want to risk injury by coming back too soon.”

Lockdown life has seen Havili in a bubble with his girlfriend, as well as All Blacks wing George Bridge and his partner, along with Crusaders lock Quinten Strange.

Job losses among the Crusaders’ backroom staff has given him cause to think about life outside of rugby.

“I was 18 months into a building apprenticeship before rugby took off and I’d definitely like to pick up the tools at some stage.

“Everyone is hurting from the restructure at the Crusaders, and the players are no different.”