Temm’s bowling over the Yorkshire faithful
YORKSHIRE Carnegie top try-scorer Dan Temm is happy living life on the other side of the fence at Headingley after choosing rugby over cricket.
The New Zealander originally came to Yorkshire as an 18-year-old fast bowler/ middle order batsman who was good enough to play representative cricket for Rotorua, Bay of Plenty and Northern Districts.
But after playing some Halifax Premier League cricket, Temm opted to leave his summers free for travelling and threw his lot in with rugby at Brian Moore’s former club, Old Crossleyans.
“The rugby club offered me free digs, so I went with what was going to help pay the bills! But cricket was definitely my first-choice sport, I was definitely a better cricketer than I was rugby player at school,” said Temm, whose mother is from the Lake District.
“I went OK for Old Crossleyans, moved across to Otley, that went pretty well and then one Friday afternoon I had a call from Newcastle asking if I wanted to play for their Ateam the following Monday against Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens.”
The Aucklander spent three years as a Falcon, appearing in four Premiership matches, before moving on to Ealing. While at Trailfinders, he guested for injury-hit Saracens in an LV= Cup game at Exeter.
But after one season in west London, Temm needed no second invitation to return to where his journey began – Yorkshire.
“I nearly came here a couple of times before I signed for Newcastle, so I’d always had a good relationship with the club and I am really fond of the area,” he said.
“When Yorkshire put the deal on the table, it was a bit of a no-brainer to sign and I am glad I did.
“We are not getting the results we would have liked at the moment, but it is a good club and it has Premiership history and world-class training facilities.
“I think what Chris Stirling (DoR) and Steve Boden (head coach) are trying to do is the right thing, we are not just making it click at the moment.”
Two years on from playing off against London Irish for promotion to the Premiership, Carnegie travelled south to play the Exiles yesterday as the league’s bottom club.
Temm points to the long casualty list as a mitigating factor. “We’ve just been unfortunate with injuries in key areas. A lot of our senior players picked up knocks at all the same time.
“With Brendan Cope doing his knee in against Jersey, it was a bit like the icing on the cake. When we get them back I am sure we will find some form.”
With no Richard Mayhew or vice-captains, Pete Lucock and Richard Beck to lead the side, Temm proudly wore the captain’s armband, and with distinction, in the last home game against Bedford, a 28-21 defeat.
An entourage of family members from Wetherby and York were rewarded for their support with a fine individual performance from Temm, capped by a last-gasp, solo effort from halfway that salvaged a losing bonus point for Carnegie.
“It was a good one but it’s probably lucky for me that I scored because I don’t think Chris (Elder) on the wing would have been too happy had I not,” he said.
“The way we are playing lets me hang out in the wider channels which suits me a bit more than the close-in stuff.”
The damp, green pitches of Yorkshire may not have been to his liking as a cricketer but, with rugby ball in hand, Temm is beginning to bowl over Carnegie fans in need of something to cheer.