Brett Cameron on his All Blacks cap and his promising second stint with the Hurricanes
Brett Cameron admits his solitary All Blacks Test was “a little bit out of the blue.”
On November 3, 2018, Cameron featured off the bench in a 69-31 win over Japan in Tokyo.
Cameron had only made a single appearance in Super Rugby for the Crusaders. Seven months earlier he came off the bench in a 33-14 win over the Bulls at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
“Canterbury bias,” “cheap” “unworthy,” “confetti caps,” “novice All Blacks,” the team selected for that Japanese Test, antagonised critics and fans. It was also the first All Blacks lineup in 87 Tests not to feature a member of the Barrett family.
In the next two seasons Cameron only played a dozen times for the Crusaders as he struggled to usurp Richie Mo’unga (109 games, 1230 points, 92 wins) and became somewhat stigmatized for being a “one test All Black” or a “journeyman.”
“Sometimes I hear a bit of that. It lights a fire. It’s outside noise,” Cameron told RugbyPass.
In 2024 Cameron (27) has been vital in the Hurricanes best ever start to Super Rugby. The Wellington based franchise has won eight successive matches. Cameron has made six starts and scored 54 points with some pundits suggesting he’s genuine All Blacks material.
“It’s awesome to start the way we have. Seeing the hard work over the summer transfer into good results is really rewarding,” Cameron said.
“The coaching staff have been outstanding. There’s been an extra level in detail and preparation – they’ve challenged us with different ideas and created a culture of healthy competition and care for each other.”
“On the All Blacks stuff, I’m not thinking about that. It’s one game at a time. We’ve got an awful record in Canberra, so we’ll have to be at our best to beat a good Brumbies side this Saturday.”
New head coach and former All Blacks Sevens mentor Clark Laidlaw (61 tournaments, 275-79, 15 Cup wins) has earned much acclaim for the Hurricanes resurgence.
By contrast Tyler Bleyendaal is absent from the headlines. However, the backs and attack coach since 2020 has just signed a contract to join Irish powerhouse Leinster at the end of the season.
Bleyendaal was a three-time Canterbury NPC Premiership winning first-five who played 21 games for the Crusaders and 62 games for Munster.
“Tyler has an amazing rugby brain, which was evident in his playing days and has carried on into his coaching. He’s got lots of ideas and adds details to them. He’s been great for me to feed off,” Cameron said.
“The biggest change for me has been really nailing the first part of the week and then being able to have the confidence to play freely. Having a good look at footage, talking it through more thoroughly, and being consistent in my routines is really important.
“Losing Cam Roigard was really hard for the boys. When you see any player on the top of their game get an injury like that you really feel for them. We’re so privileged to have TJ Perenara, the most capped Hurricane of all time as his replacement. Our mentality is the next guy up is ready.
Cameron believes the Hurricanes 47-12 demolition of the Highlanders in Dunedin on March 30 was their best performance. Last week’s 38-15 victory over the Fijian Dura comes a close second.
“Though I didn’t play, the win in Fiji against the Dura was no mean feat. The boys really fronted on defense and Aidan Morgan was outstanding after that nasty cut.”
The Hurricanes victory was their 230th in 400 matches (399 Super fixtures and a 31-31 draw against the 2017 British & Irish Lions).
The Fijian Drua lost for the first time at home this year after winning their last six matches in a row at home venues. The sequence had started last year with a 27-24 win against the Hurricanes in Suva.
Remarkably, three Hurricanes players were issued with yellow cards: Du’Plessis Kirifi, Isaia Walker-Leawere and Caleb Delany. This has happened twice before. In the 2009 match against the Bulls at Wellington, Jason Eaton, Ma’a Nonu and Scott Waldrom all received a yellow card. The second time was during the match against the Stormers at Cape Town in 2012: Ben May, Tristan Moran (on debut) and Jeffery To’omaga-Allen were the recipients in that match.
The Hurricanes lost both matches: 14-19 to the Bulls and 26-39 against the Stormers respectively.
The Hurricanes are now two wins away from equalling their record run of consecutive victories. In 2016 they won their last eight matches and the first two of 2017 and in 2018 they had a sequence of 10 wins on the trot.
Those statistics are a far cry from Manawatu in the NPC. In 2022 the Turbos lost every game in a season for the first time since 1919, and stretched that losing streak to 17 successive matches in 2023. Cameron is first-five and outstanding Hurricanes No.8 Braydon Iose is Manawatu captain.
“It can be tough getting the boys up when you keep losing but the younger players in the group look up to the leaders. You have to stay positive and keep your standards high,” Cameron said.
A decade ago, Cameron was something of a prodigy. Perhaps things appeared to come a little easier. He burst onto the national radar in 2014 when he was plucked from Wanganui’s small Cullinane College and named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools training squad.
The all-round sportsman was already well known in Wanganui. He played rugby for Wanganui at Under 16, 18 and 19 levels. In 2013 he was selected for the New Zealand Under-17 cricket team having captained Central Districts at age group level for two years.
In 2014 he was the College’s touch and athletics captain and member of the First XV rugby and First XI cricket teams and attended a Hurricanes Under 18 camp. After school Cameron headed south to Lincoln University and into the Canterbury NPC team.
Cameron reached a half century of games for Lincoln and won four senior club championships. With Canterbury he played 44 games (31 wins) and scored 354 points winning an NPC Premiership in 2017.
Comments on RugbyPass
What a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
2 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
2 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
3 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
86 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to comments