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'Couldn't ask for a better team to play for my 100th': Weber eyes old rivals
It’s been somewhat of an unconventional path, but Brad Weber will become just the eighth player to reach centurion status for the Chiefs on Saturday afternoon – and the All Blacks halfback couldn’t have asked for better opposition to notch up the milestone against.
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Weber will join the likes of Liam Messam, Hika Elliot, Stephen Donald, Tanerau Latimer, Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick and Aaron Cruden as Chiefs centurions when he takes the field in the No 9 jersey this weekend.
Despite being a member of the famously strong 2011 New Zealand Under 20s side that boasted household names such as Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick and Charles Piutua, Weber didn’t immediately make the step up to senior professional rugby like so many of his teammates and struggled to catch a break for the Otago NPC side. Thankfully Dave Rennie, the man who had coached Weber with the Under 20s side, tossed the young scrumhalf a bone.
“I got dropped from the Otago team in 2013 so Rens and all the coaching crew that was at the Chiefs at the time threw me a little bit of a lifeline,” Weber said on Thursday. “Along with the Waikato team, Trent Renata and Johnny Walters, [they] got me up halfway through the [NPC] season, had a couple of good games and then Rens popped round to my house – I was staying with Brayden Mitchell – the day after we played Auckland and offered me a Chiefs contract for the next year. I went from playing Otago development two weeks ago to getting a Chiefs contract with Dave Rennie, it was amazing.
“So I owe a lot, particularly to that group, Rens and Andrew Strawbridge in particular, they put a lot of work in with me to iron out the kinks but also try and encourage the strengths. That’s what I loved about them the most, I’d come in here and they weren’t always talking about my weaknesses or what they wanted me to work on.
“Obviously they wanted to get everything up to a world-class standard but they were really excited about my strengths and what that could do for the team and that really resonated for me, right from day one. As soon as I heard that with those guys, I was like ‘This is home, this is where I want to be’.”
The following Super Rugby season, Weber made his Super Rugby debut in a tight contest against the Crusaders down in Christchurch when Tawera Kerr-Barlow went down with an injury the day before the match.
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“I wasn’t meant to [play]. I was actually upstairs [at the Chiefs training facility] doing the game replacement, I was on the rowing machine getting absolutely thrashed and I think TKB rolled his ankle at the captain’s run or something so halfway through I got a tap on the shoulder to get off the rowing machine which I was pretty happy about.
“[The next day] I jumped on the plane and came on for the last 10 or 15 minutes. When I looked down [during the match], Hunger [Liam Messam] was on one side of the scrum and Richie McCaw was on the other. I was like ‘This is pretty cool’. That’s where it all started.”
Weber spent the first few seasons of his Super Rugby career competing with the likes of Kerr-Barlow and Augustine Pulu for game time but eventually edged ahead of Pulu in the pecking order and when Kerr-Barlow left New Zealand following the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Weber became an all-but-permanent fixture in the No 9 jersey.
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Weber took over as the Chiefs’ temporary captain in Sam Cane’s injury-enforced absence last season and this year was named a permanent co-captain alongside Cane – something the 31-year-old never initially expected.
“I was always pretty happy to help out leading tactically and knowing we’ve got such good leaders with Sammy and stuff… His leadership style, the way he leads is something I’ve always looked up to and thought he [did] a pretty good job.
“But at the same time, when Donk [head coach Clayton McMillan] asked me to co-captain with him, I was pretty bloody proud of being able to do that too. Especially with Sam as well, he’s one of my best mates so it’s pretty cool to be able to do it alongside him.”
While many are quick to underplay their own individual achievements, Weber is well-aware of the significance of Saturday’s clash with the Blues.
“It probably isn’t just another game, it’s one I’ll remember forever,” he said. “And to be honest, it’s one I’ve been eying up for a number of years to try to get here too. So pretty bloody stoked to finally get there.
“I’m trying to play it cool but it’s hard not to realise the achievement’s a pretty big one. I look up at those guys on the wall, Liam, Tanerau, Hika, Beaver, Sammy, Guz and Cruds, and I’m like ‘wow’, I get to join those fellas who I’ve looked up to for my whole career and [they’re] some of my best mates as well. A very proud moment.
“To be honest, actually really happy to be playing the Blues for it as well. Couldn’t ask for a better team to play for my 100th. There’s no bigger game in a Chiefs jersey than against the Blues and if we can go up there and get a win at Eden Park, that’s been some of the sweetest victories I’ve been a part of so hopefully add another one.”
Looking back on his eight years in the jersey, Weber has a few highlights in particular from throughout his past 99 matches – including last season’s bounce back from the horror nine-game losing streak that capped of their 2020 campaign.
“Our run last year was pretty satisfying,” said Weber. “All the naysayers were ripping into us and then we got to prove what we were all believing here so that was pretty good.
“The win over the Crusaders in Fiji in 2019. Came back from about three tries down in the first 20 minutes and ended up beating them pretty handsomely.
“One other one I do remember is the Sharks game here at Waikato Stadium in 2019 and we scored this mean [try] – I ended up being on the end of it – right from the kick-off and we came back to beat a good Sharks team that night. Just hearing the roar of the crowd, I’ll remember rolling in and scoring that try and just giving [a fist pump] to the crowd.
“There’s been heaps, not even touching on the off-field stuff, that’s probably been my most favourite part of these eight years, the mates I’ve made. It’s starting to sound like it’s a retirement speech – it’s not, I’ve still got plenty more years in me so I’m looking forward to many more.”
Coach Clayton McMillan also highlighted the significance of Weber’s accomplishment on Thursday.
“I think any time anybody manages to play 100 games, whether it be at provincial, Super or international level is a huge achievement, particularly in the modern game where professional players really need to take their opportunities wherever they’re presented,” McMillan said. “That means you see a lot of transition of players from one environment to another but to be a one-team, to achieve that, I think is hugely admirable and we’re looking forward to getting out there and putting on a performance that will acknowledge the big contribution that Brad’s made to the organisation.”
The Chiefs take on the Blues at Eden Park at 4:35pm NZT on Saturday afternoon.
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments