No more watching from afar over breakfast for lock
Two years ago Matt Symons would have watched the Chiefs play on television over breakfast on the other side of the world.
It never occurred to the two-metre tall Englishman that 24 months later he would actually be starting for the Chiefs in a pressure Super Rugby match against the Highlanders at Waikato Stadium.
But that is exactly what the 23-year-old did on Saturday night, playing his part in a dramatic come-from-behind 21-19 victory.
‘‘Two years ago I would have been at home eating my breakfast, watching it on Sky,’’ Symons said.
‘‘All my mates are still at home watching it so it’s pretty surreal.
‘‘It’s awesome; I can’t put it into words really.
‘‘It’s just a great environment here and I’m pretty proud to be part of it.’’
Symons, who made his Super Rugby debut off the bench the previous week against the Crusaders in Christchurch, got the start on Saturday alongside Mike Fitzgerald in the second row after young All Blacks star Brodie Retallick was ruled out with concussion suffered in a head clash during that first match.
Symons was born in Harlow and played junior rugby before pursuing a rowing career that saw him represent Great Britain. But a forearm injury led him to return to rugby.
He played for Esher in the 2011-12 season and then followed his brother Andrew, who plays in the midfield for Tasman, out to New Zealand.
After captaining the Crusaders Development side, he played for Canterbury in last year’s ITM Cup, winning the firstyear player of the season award before being signed by the Chiefs and making an immediate impact with a 19.4 score in the 20m yo-yo test, which is considered exceptional for a tight forward.
‘‘When the Chiefs first approached me I was just shell-shocked to be honest. It’s just an awesome environment, great coaches, great players and the boys make you feel real welcome so you just slot straight in.
‘‘A lot is expected of you in terms of work ethic, study, analysis and you’ve got to put your yards in.
‘‘It’s a tough environment but it’s going well. We’ve had a tough pre-season and it’s just good to get the two wins under the belt.
‘‘They weren’t pretty but we got them,’’ he said.
Symons said it had been a ‘‘massive
Chiefs lock Matt Symons heads upfield against the Highlanders. honour’’ to get his first start for the Chiefs.
‘‘I just want to go out there and do the jersey proud. It was a great crowd and great to start at home and I’m feeling pretty rapt.’’
But he felt no extra pressure taking the place of Retallick, who has been a constant and a workaholic star for the Chiefs over the last two seasons.
‘‘It didn’t really affect me too much because there are a lot of leaders throughout the team, especially in the forward pack with the likes of Liam [Messam], Tanerau [Latimer] and Mike Fitzgerald as well – he’s got a lot of experience.
‘‘Just like everyone says it’s a huge step up from ITM, especially with the speed and physicality, but training-wise we try and simulate match situations and while there’s nothing quite like being out there they try and get it as close as possible.’’
Symons said belief was always there within the team and the players never doubted they would come back in Saturday night’s match.
‘‘[The Highlanders] had a really strong game last week and we knew they were going to be a massive challenge, especially up front and at the breakdown, so we had to match that.
‘‘The set-piece was a big work-on last week for us and we’ve just got to keep working on it. I enjoy the responsibility of that but, as I said, there are a lot of leaders so it’s not all on one person’s shoulders,’’ he said.