JUNE/JULY 2015 // NZ RUGBY WORLD //

NZRW: Word is...you might be quite handy in the kitchen. What

inﬂuence did food have in your life when you were growing up?

TKB: Both mum and dad were chefs so we always had good

tucker when we were kids. They tended to work mainly in hotels

in Darwin where I grew up until I was about 12 or 13 and was sent

to boarding school at Hamilton Boys’. The only thing was mum

didn’t like vegetables too much so we didn’t have many of them. I

don’t think I started to really enjoy vegies until I was in sixth

form at school. That’s when I started to really eat them and enjoy

them.

NZRW: Boarding school’s are not renowned for their cuisine.

Was your school much the same as every other and serving up

fairly disastrous dishes?

TKB: Yeah the food was rubbish. I think it has improved now but

in my day, not only was it not great, but we didn’t really have

enough of it either. I remember that I was always hungry and that

I was often run down and didn’t have enough energy.

NZRW: The problem with being hungry and not having access

to healthy food is that it can lead to people snacking or ﬁlling

up on junk – especially of they don’t have much money. Junk is

usually always cheaper so did you rush out and eat things you

shouldn’t while you were at school?

TKB: I didn’t really have enough money to do that. I guess when

I did, I’d got to the shops and buy some food, but I did try to avoid

eating rubbish during the week. We did get some information

about diet [from the school] but it was a bit vague and pretty

much said try not to eat too many takeaways. I was pretty lucky

that my aunt was my guardian when I was at boarding school and

she ran a cafe. So when I went to see her or stay with her, I could

eat pretty well.

NZRW: What about after you left school...sometimes that can

a real problem for young players as they have no idea how to

cook, or what to cook. Were you left a bit stranded nutritionally

speaking in those ﬁrst years in the pro game?

TKB: My ﬁrst year out of school I guess I was lucky that I had

good nutritional advice at Waikato and I really started to take

that side of things seriously. Once I started to know about more

nutrition and what to look out for, I began to discover what works

for me. I think that is the key – know what works for you, what

you like to eat, how much and what sorts of foods. Avoid the

really sugary stuff and have a good grasp on the basics of

nutrition.

I was living with my aunt so she cooked really good, healthy

food. When I run a lot then I tend to lose weight quickly and

become quite lean. I think it would be true to say that if anyone

is eating badly – putting lots of crap into their system – then they

are going to gain weight no matter how much they are doing

physically.

LONG LAY OFF

Tawera Kerr-Barlow

says he has reduced his

intake of carbs since

suering a serious knee

injury last October.

Tawera Kerr-Barlow’s parents are both chefs

which is partly why he’s developed a sound set

of skills in the kitchen. he spoke to NZ rugBy

world about his love of cooking – and eating –

and what he puts into his system to keep him at

the top of his game.

Once I started to know about more

nutrition and what to look out for, I

began to discover what works for me. I

think that is the key – know what works

for you what you like to eat, how much

and what sorts of foods.' TKB

[ food of champions ]