Weber revels in his freedom
Brad Weber never heard a peep from the All Blacks coaches through his standout year of Super Rugby with the Chiefs, and for the blazing halfback that silence was golden.
Weber has capped a memorable 2019 Chiefs campaign with an All Blacks recall at the age of 28 – four years since his one and only test (also before a World Cup, in 2015), and two years since he broke a femur and wondered if he would ever scale the heights of his sport again.
But here he was yesterday, gathered with the All Blacks in Auckland at their pre-Rugby Championship camp, preparing, minus the Crusaders contingent, for the first two tests of a very important programme for the year. At the end of it lies a shot at some special history at the World Cup in Japan.
For Weber Tuesday night’s announcement that he was included as one of three halfbacks in Steve Hansen’s extended squad of 39 – making him odds-on to be on the plane for Japan with three No 9s sure to be taken – came without a hint of what was about to unfold.
‘‘I found out like everybody else, the TV was on and I was on the couch at home. I wasn’t sure if I was getting in or not, and I was pretty nervous,’’ Weber said.
He shared the special moment Brad Weber is rapt to be back in the All Blacks after a brief taste in 2015. with his flatmates, and deliberately stayed away from his parents, who, he said, were ‘‘pretty emotional’’.
‘‘You just never know,’’ he said. ‘‘I knew I’d been playing some good rugby, so I gave myself the best shot, but you can never be too sure until you actually hear your name read out. So I was bloody stoked when it was.’’
Despite the perception that everyone in New Zealand rugby knows exactly where they stand, Weber confirmed that was not the case. He received no communication from the powers that be throughout the Chiefs campaign, and in hindsight he was thankful for being able to strut his stuff baggage-free.
‘‘I’m really happy they weren’t talking to me through the year. In previous years I probably got a bit consumed by the selection of this team and it probably affected me really negatively. By putting selection stuff out of my mind, it enabled me to play so much more freely.’’
For Weber to get where he is now, pressing hard in behind the experienced duo of Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara, he first had to hurdle Chiefs team-mate Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, who had emerged in 2018 as the All Blacks’ preferred halfback option.
He did that by playing so well, with so much blazing speed, by carrying so much leadership responsibility as the big-hitters around him kept falling over, that coach Colin Cooper simply had no option but to run with him as a starter each week. His form never wavered, and here he is.
Weber had received a brief taste of the All Blacks in 2015, when he played one test against Samoa in the buildup, but missed the cut for the World Cup. He was beginning to wonder if his time would come again.
‘‘There might have been those thoughts perhaps creep in a little bit, but I still held on to the hope that I could be good enough to force myself back into the frame. I just tried to work as hard as I could to get there and I’m stoked that’s paid off.’’
All Blacks newbie and Chiefs team-mate Luke Jacobson was rapt for his little halfback because he’d seen what he’d done to make this happen.
‘‘He came into pre-season early and he’s been training so hard, and gives it everything. He’s a good leader for the Chiefs as well. He’s been forced to step up this year but he’s done more than step up. He took a lot of weight on his shoulders and still went out and played bloody well.’’
Weber says he’s as fit as he has ever been, and is on top of his game to boot. He knows he will need to be, given what lies ahead. But that’s a challenge he is not going to shy from.
WINNERS, LOSERS
PHOTOSPORT