So’oialo: Let’s get physical

The cheap talk makes Rodney So’oialo chuckle.

A veteran of 62 tests for the All Blacks, the new Wellington Lions forwards coach has heard plenty in his time. Lots of it along the lines of how are these New Zealand powder puffs going to stand up to the ferocity of their northern hemisphere opponents.

In 2005 the British and Irish Lions were going to unleash a level of physicality the All Blacks simply couldn’t match. Only for So’oialo and company to turn around and win that series 3-0.

Who knows how the next instalment of this rivalry will unfold. But So’oialo doubts a lack of substance will be responsible, should the All Blacks suffer a series defeat.

"They throw that around every year, even when I was playing: are you going to match it? So, yes, they [the Lions] are going to bring it this year and the Kiwis are going to be up for it. It’s ingrained in New Zealanders to be physical and we’ve got tons of physical people in the All Blacks right now,’’ So’oialo said. The 37-year-old former All Blacks captain is actually surprised that the team’s ability to abrasive is questioned so regularly.

‘‘Because the answer is yes [they can stand up]. If you’re being ranked No.1 [in the world] again and again it’s usually because you’re winning that area of the game,’’ he said.

It’s all a world away from where rugby’s taken the ex-Wellington, Hurricanes and All Blacks No.8 in recent times.

So’oialo finished his playing career at the Honda Heat in Japan, where he took his first tentative steps towards coaching. Some players of his ilk might’ve opted to stay at a Japanese company team or come home and seek provincial or Super Rugby jobs.

To So’oialo’s great credit, he decided ‘‘a real good foundation’’ was what he needed.

That’s meant four years of coaching at the Petone, Wellington and Tawa clubs, doing some work at Wellington College and with the Wellington union’s under-16, 18, Samoan and development sides. It’s not glamorous and probably didn’t earn So’oialo a fortune ‘‘but I was really prepared to sacrifice in order grow as a coach.’’

‘‘How do you get the best out of people that don’t get paid to play? They’re here after a full shift of work and you’ve got to try and make them happy about actually being here and training after a big day.’’

Now So’oialo will join the Wellington Lions’ staff, under new head coach Chris Gibbes.

It’s a chance for So’oialo to return to a high-performance environment and put into practice some of the theories of his mentor.

He had exposure to a lot of good coaches in his playing days but one stood out and helped foster the idea of becoming a coach himself one day.

‘‘You had people like Wayne Smith, who pretty much made that [experience] for me and made that very interesting, seeing how he coached and the way he made you challenge your thought process as a player,’’ So’oialo said.