IN CASE
YOU WERE
ASLEEP...
CONTINUED
hugely talented but almost beyond
coaching into the fi
nished article.
■
Decision-making,
t
hough,
wasn’t Francis’ strong suit and
deliberating
such m
atters
soo
n
bored him.
■
“Whatever,” he said to the
Leprechaun and with that, Ireland
became
Fr
ancis’
ne
w
ho
me.
■
Colin Slade didn’t meet a
Leprechaun He met an ocial
from Pau, the ambitious French
club who will soon win promotion
to Top 14.
■ The ocial promised him a No 10
jersey, $720,000 a year and an
overseas venture that would open
his eyes to the cultural charms of
France.
■ Slade decided that was for him and
took the deal.
■ Which led to Crusaders coach Todd
Blackadder dialling John Kirwan
to set up a help group for Super
Rugby coaches who don’t have a
first-five.
■
It was all a bit of a shock for
Blackadder as he’s been a
renowned first-five hoarder. Over
the years he’s had more than any
coach would actually need.
■
In fact, it has sometimes felt like
he w
as stock piling needlessly just
to
a
nnoy
t
he
B
lues.
■
But from having three – All Blacks
the lot – at the start of the season,
he faces going into 2016 with none
now that Dan Carter, Slade and
Tom Taylor are all o to France.
■ Kirwan, on the other hand, may
have finally found one that looks
capable of leading the Blues to a
better place.
■
That man is Daniel Bowden – who,
in his first New Zealand stint,
always looked a capable footballer.
■
Bowden had time with the
Highlanders and Crusaders before
he le for England in 2010. He’s
come back much the same player
physically but perhaps stronger
mentally in terms of his decision-
making and composure.
■ Talking of composure, it’s
important t
o realise that neither
Waratahs c
oach Michael Cheika
nor Jaco Peyper lost theirs in
Sydney
w
hen
t
he Blues were there
in round six.
■
It’s important to also understand
that their halime contretemps
was not a big deal. Cheika,
inquisitive as he is, felt he couldn’t
possibly get through the second 40
minutes without answers to a few
questions.
JUNE/JULY 2015 // NZ ruGBY WOrlD //
11
AFEAKI'S RETIREMENT
HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS
THE RETIREMENT FORCED of Ben Afeaki
has highlighted once a
gain t
he seriousness
of co
ncussion and t
he i
mproved handling of
players who suer from it.
Afeaki, w
ho won a s
ingle A
ll Black cap in
2014, h
adn’t played s
ince a m
assive clash of
heads with Brodie Retallick in the early rounds
of l
ast year’s S
uper Ru
gby competition.
Almost 18 months on and Afeaki is still
suering headaches, bouts of nausea and
periods of forgetfulness. He hasn’t been able
to train since the head clash and having been in
this physical state for so long, the 27-year-old
made the decision to retire.
“I am very fortunate that I have achieved
some awesome things in rugby but now is
the time that I have to make a decision that
is best for my health long-term, and that is
to retire from all rugby,” Afeaki said. “I have
been part of team that has won back-to-back
Super Rugby Championships. I have lived out
a boyhood dream of playing for the All Blacks
and played for a very special team in the Maori
All Blacks and captained my provincial union,
North
H
arbour.
“During that time I have built some life-long
friendships, had some awesome experiences
and received amazing support and care
from the Chiefs, North Harbour and New
Zealand Rugby.”
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said Afeaki will
continue to remain part of the team even
though he won’t be on the field. “Ben is an
outstanding man who is highly respected and
loved by all at the Chiefs.
“When he informed the team that he was
retiring from rugby, it was very emotional. The
haka they honoured him with was the most
passionate and heartfelt I’ve ever witnessed.
His phenomenal work rate and physicality
played a massive part in our success in 2012-13
and he will be sorely missed.
“He has our full support in this decision and
has used the past 14 months since his injury
to clarify his future beyond his playing days.
We are totally committed to assisting him in
transitioning into the work force.”
Afeaki played 36 matches for the Chiefs,
eight matches for the Maori All Blacks and 58
games for North Harbour.
GOOD CHOICE
It was a hard but
ultimately good
choice by Ben Afeaki
to retire.
