He tried to mould
me into a Christophe
Deylaud player, and I
wasn’t that sort of a player.’
STEPHEN BRETT
[ top 14 ]
78
// NZ RUGBY WORLD // JUNE/JULY 2015
of the team and to adapt to it.”
Part of his inability to fit in, Brett also
explains, was caused by communication
issues with the backline coach and former
French international Christophe Deylaud:
“He got his point across, but I couldn’t; it
was like banging your head against a wall,
and it got worse and worse. We didn’t end
up liking each other.
“He knows his rugby but on the field you
have to have a little bit of control. I couldn’t
really get that with him in place.”
But more importantly and frustratingly to
be sure, Brett felt the coach was trying to
change him as a player. Deylaud wanted to
implement a defensive and somewhat ugly
rugby.
This was far from Brett’s philosophy: “He
tried to mould me into a Christophe
Deylaud player, and I wasn’t that sort of a
player. Coming from the Blues side with the
Tongans and Samoans playing, they love to
play rugby; it was quite difficult to play in
Bayonne. It wasn’t my style of rugby.”
That first season in France ended with a
divorce by mutual consent between Brett
and Bayonne. The former was labelled a
disappointment in the newspapers. The
man who had been Dan Carter’s
understudy with the Crusaders was looking
for a new club. He had options, including in
England with London Irish, but he chose to
go to Lyon and its club, the Lyon Olympique
Universitaire (LOU).
Brett was looking for an ambitious club.
And Lyon, founded back in 1895, is one of
the oldest in France.
After two championship titles in the
1930s, the club never was at the forefront of
French rugby. For its come back in the elite
in 2014, the club and its president, Yann
Roubert, had big plans.
With a budget of ¤20 million ($28m
NZD), the club is giving itself the means to
achieve its goals. And it wasn’t just about
staying in the top division. Brett was part of
an ambitious recruitment along with
George Smith. They joined big guns such as
Ricky Januarie, former French captain
Lionel Nallet and Argentina’s Juan Manuel
Leguizamon.
Brett was also looking for a better
environment. With Smith and former Blues
teammate Lachie Munro for example, there
were partners he could understand.
Furthermore, Lane coaching the team
certainly convinced Brett to move to the
west of France.
“I had had a bad year with Bayonne, and I
wanted to prove to myself I was able to play
here in France. So that was one of the
reasons I came to Lyon, and also the fact
that the coach was an English-speaking
person.”
Lane never had doubts when it came to
recruiting Brett. He was sure he was
making the right choice. He knew he could
help him be once again an impact player. An
instinctive, creative fly-half, with brilliant
distribution and excellent tactical kicking.
Back in New Zealand, Brett had outshone
All Black Luke McAlister in Auckland.
That’s the player Lane wanted in Lyon’s red
and black jersey. And, soon enough, Brett
found his mark. “I like to play in confidence,
which wasn’t the case at all last year. I had
no confidence in my coaching staff and the
players. So this year, I’m happy on and off
the field. It shows in my rugby. I’m content.”
And, maybe, France was to be the place
where he found his personal bliss. He met
his French partner when playing for the
Colts in the 2006 Junior World Cup played
in the Clermont-Ferrand region. “When I
was living in Japan, she was living in New
Zealand and I emailed her that I wanted her
to be my French tutor. We started seeing
each other when I came back to New
Zealand after I broke my foot.”
They are now the happy parents of a little
girl, born in January, Aaliyah.
Fatherhood has changed him. “I used to
be a bit of a hooligan; I would have beers
and go out. But when you have to wake up in
the morning to take care of your child, it’s
just a different experience. You have got to
grow up more quickly.”
Brett’s shoes now sport his daughter’s
name. “I wanted to have her with me and on
me when playing. Most people put strapping
on their wrist and write on it, but I don’t like
strappings there. So I put her name on my
boots instead. I look at her name before I
BIG SMOKE
Brett likes the buzz that
comes with big cities
which is why he settled
well with the Blues.
