The born again All Blacks
As jilted All Blacks lick their wounds, others have burst through the bat wing doors to celebrate in the Second Chance Saloon. The 2019 World Cup squad announced on Wednesday - includes seven men who have trudged the road of redemption to earn air tickets to Japan. They have survived serious surgeries, concussions and selection snubs to prove patience, persistence and loyalty to be the ultimate sporting virtues.
1 ATU MOLI:
The All Blacks’ first Marlborough-reared front row forward since Anton Oliver has booked a Rugby World Cup berth after recovering from a horrific leg injury in 2018.
An innocuous minor blow to his left quad led to a giant haematoma. Compartment syndrome developed, with Moli’s leg muscle expanding disproportionately.
Moli told Stuff in February 2019 he was told the injury was generally only seen as a result of car accidents and can lead to amputation.
Four operations ensued with doctors cutting the side of his leg open to continually release the pressure on the muscle.
Moli also needed a skin graft. His recovery was long and laborious, forcing him to miss the Mitre 10 Cup season.
After no footy in 2018, the 24-yearold was keen to make his mark in Super Rugby this year.
Prior to his injury, Moli was handed some homework by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who wanted him to switch from tighthead to loosehead prop.
Moli got more game-time in the No 1 jumper in this season’s Super Rugby competition with the Chiefs well served on the tighthead by All Blacks Nepo Laulala and Angus Ta’avao.
Moli’s size (1.89m and 127kg) and mobility have earned him the nod for the World Cup squad as a potential impact player off the bench.
2: ANGUS TA’AVAO:
Two years ago, tighthead prop Angus Ta’avao’s career was at a crossroads.
The Aucklander had just experienced the second setback of his Super Rugby career. Released in 2015 after 49 games over four seasons for the Blues, he joined the Waratahs in Sydney. But the New South Wales franchise cut him loose after 22 games in two years.
Ta’avao and his partner took their son Leo – born with a genetic disorder – home to be nearer to family.
The personable prop, who has played provincial rugby for Taranaki since 2014, came back without a contract. But his Taranaki coach, Colin Cooper, threw him a lifeline – a short-term training stint with the Chiefs.
Injuries to All Blacks Nepo Laulala and Atu Moli opened a door for Ta’avao, who burst through it like a Taranaki bull at a gate.
Earlier in his career, the former New Zealand under-20 international had been overlooked for higher national honours due to perceived concerns about his scrummaging strength.
But Ta’avao and Chiefs propping partner Karl Karl Tu’inukuafe earned All Blacks call-ups with Ta’avao making his test debut in the 2018 Rugby Championship.
Now, almost 10 years after his first-class debut (for Auckland), Ta’avao has won a World Cup berth over two-time gold medallist Owen Franks.
At 1.94m and 124kg, Ta’avao fits Steve Hansen’s desire for big, mobile ball-running props.
3: NEPO LAULALA:
The Samoan born tighthead first burst into prominence with the Crusaders where he competed for game-time with All Blacks incumbent Owen Franks.
Laulala made his test debut in 2015, replacing Franks against his native Manu Samoa and went on to win another three caps off the bench.
But he could not displace Franks and his brother Ben or Charlie Faumuina in the 2015 World Cup squad.
Laulala made a canny move to the Chiefs in 2016 to get more Super Rugby starts, but tore three ligaments in his right knee in a preseason game and missed the entire season.
He returned in 2017 to make nine test starts but broke his left arm in an early round Super Rugby game in 2018 and was out for seven months.
Laulala made an All Blacks comeback off the bench against Argentina in the 2019 Rugby Championship and nailed his World Cup ticket with a powerful performance in the big win over the Wallabies at Eden Park.
4: MATT TODD: The Crusaders flanker embodies seventeenth century English poet John Milton’s immortal line: ‘‘They also serve who only stand and wait’’.
Todd has shown plenty of persistence.
Placed on potential standby for the 2011 Rugby World Cup with Richie McCaw nursing a crook foot, Todd, 31, is finally going to his first World Cup eight years later.
The Kaiapoi-raised backrower made his All Blacks debut in 2013 and would have won many more than his 20 caps for almost any other nation, as Steve Hansen acknowledged after Todd’s man of the match performance against the Springboks in Wellington in July.
‘‘He’s been an unfortunate player in some respects, he first made the All Blacks, got called in as a back up for Richie [McCaw] in 2011, which is a long time ago.
‘‘He’s been behind Richie, then Sam Cane and Ardie, but he’s always been reliable.
‘‘And he’s always been a good performer every time he puts on the black jersey, tonight was another example of that.’’
Todd’s value emboldened New Zealand Rugby to temporarily waive its ban on selecting overseasbased players when he was called up from a club stint in Japan in 2018 to solve an injury crisis in the All Blacks’ back row.
His ability at the breakdown and clever link play (he and captain Kieran Read have a telepathic understanding) have given Hansen the confidence to name three specialist openside flankers for Japan.
5: BRAD WEBER The Hawke’s Bay halfback is another All Black who’d be a dab hand at Patience – the card game also known as Solitaire.
Weber was part of the New Zealand under-20 team’s Class of 2011 – alongside World Cup teammates Codie Taylor, Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane, T J Perenara and Beauden Barrett.
Retallick, Cane and Barrett were fast-tracked to the All Blacks, but Weber had to wait till 2015 for his first cap.
Despite being a proven performer in Super Rugby, he had to watch Chiefs halfback rival Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi get the nod as the test backup to Aaron Smith and Perenara.
Weber saw off Tahuriorangi’s challenge in 2019 returned to the All Blacks for a 12-minute cameo in Argentina.
His speed around the ruck and snappy pass have got him on the plane.
6: RYAN CROTTY: The Crusaders midfielder stoically maintained a stiff upper lip at the disappointment of missing the World Cup cut last time around after 15 tests since 2013.
Crotty became an instant All Black hero in his rookie year, scoring an after-the-buzzer try to prevent a first-ever loss to Ireland in Dublin.
But Malakai Fekitoa got the gig many felt should have been Crotty’s in 2015.
Lesser men would have tested the international market, but Crotty swallowed his disappointment and helped Canterbury win the national championship final with a grand final try.
The intervening seasons haven’t been easy for Crotty, who, at one point, had six concussions in 15 months.
His head injury experiences prompted some pundits to suggest he should retire, and even his sister, Tall Ferns basketball international Shea Crotty, expressed her concerns.
He missed the 2019 Rugby Championship after breaking his thumb in the Super Rugby final.
But, whenever he’s been fit, Crotty has always been in Steve Hansen’s plans – prized for his ability to operate effectively at second five-eighths and centre and for his backline direction skills.
7: SEVU REECE: What a difference a year has made in the life of the 22-year-old Crusaders wing. Reece’s career was under a cloud in 2018 after he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.
A conviction would have placed in jeopardy a contract he had signed with Irish club Connacht.
Reece was discharged without conviction in October 2018, but Connacht ripped up his contract anyway.
Unwanted by the Chiefs, Reece was handed a second chance after being invited to join the Crusaders’ wider training squad.
He impressed on and off the field, with New Zealand Rugby Players Association chief executive Rob Nichol saying Reece had been given a shot at redemption after showing remorse and taking responsibility for his actions.
Reece nailed down the Crusaders’ right wing jersey, scoring a tournament-high 15 tries as the Crusaders celebrated a third consecutive title.
His redemption was complete when Steve Hansen named him in the Rugby Championship squad and handed him a debut against Argentina.
Hansen said at the time New Zealand Rugby had a ‘‘duty of care’’ to help Reece get better and the Fijian flyer had ‘‘flourished in [the Crusaders’ environment].’’
Reece, a Fijian, who has lived in New Zealand since 2014, starred with a try and some explosive pace in the All Blacks’ 36-0 whitewashing of the Wallabies at Eden Park.
Some punters are predicting he could have the same impact in Japan as 2015 All Black bolter Nehe Milner-Skudder made.
Moli told Stuff in February 2019 he was told the injury was generally only seen as a result of car accidents and can lead to amputation. Injuries to All Blacks Nepo Laulala and Atu Moli opened a door for Ta’avao, who burst through it like a Taranaki bull at a gate. Laulala broke his left arm in an early round Super Rugby game in 2018 and was out for seven months. Placed on potential standby for the 2011 Rugby World Cup with Richie McCaw nursing a crook foot, Todd, 31, is finally going to his first World Cup eight years later. The Hawke’s Bay halfback is another All Black who’d be a dab hand at Patience – the card game also known as Solitaire. Crotty’s head injury experiences prompted some pundits to suggest he should retire...even his sister expressed her concerns. Reece was discharged without conviction in October 2018, but Connacht ripped up his contract anyway.