Franks targeting All Blacks return
Owen Franks has revealed a desire to add to his 108 caps for the All Blacks was the catalyst for his return to New Zealand as he gets ready to make his long-awaited debut for the Hurricanes.
The 34-year-old headed to England to play for Northampton Saints after he was a surprise omission from the All Blacks squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but he is determined to give international rugby another crack.
‘‘I’m just competitive and I want to see if I can mix it again with these guys,’’ Franks said.
‘‘I really enjoyed my time in England. Northampton was a great club and I enjoyed the rugby. But it’s different when you know there’s no possibility of making the national team.
‘‘I don’t consider myself in the frame at the minute here but there’s just a different feeling when you know there’s a mountaintop to reach, so to speak, and that’s hugely motivating.
‘‘If you’re playing rugby in New Zealand and you’re eligible for the All Blacks and it’s not your goal then maybe you should rethink why you’re playing.’’
The two-time World Cup winning prop has been named on the bench for the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby Pacific clash against Fijian Drua at Sky Stadium in Wellington tomorrow.
It will be Franks’ first game of rugby in 15 months after suffering a torn Achilles before the start of pre-season, which threatened to end his Super Rugby Pacific season before it started.
‘‘I was doing some sprints and like anyone who has done it will tell you, it just happens out of the blue,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s pretty obvious because you look at your tendon and you can tell it’s missing.’’
Franks was originally told he faced somewhere between six and 12 months on the sideline.
‘‘I was really grateful when I got the contract here at the Hurricanes so I could get another crack here in New Zealand but when I ruptured my Achilles I was just desperate to repay the faith in the club because they were supportive and never showed they were disappointed.’’
Franks said he turned to Google and read up on what other athletes had done to hasten their recovery.
‘‘My dad always thought outside the box and it’s easier when you can Google other players who had done it before so that’s what I did. I found a couple of NFL players who had a ruptured Achilles and came back in four to six months.
‘‘Having confidence and knowing someone else has done it [helped]. It was the same at Northampton Saints where a prop ruptured his Achilles during a scrum session and came back in six or seven months.
‘‘So I knew it was possible and put the plans in place. The medical staff here were awesome and never said it wasn’t possible.’’