Elliot Dixon confirms why he definitely won't feature for the Highlanders in 2020
Super Rugby will be the first major rugby tournament back on the menu this year with the competition set to resume on June 13th.
While many other competitions are suspended indefinitely, the likes of Japan’s Top League and France’s Top 14 have been completely cancelled, leaving a number of players who were based outside of New Zealand with some spare time on their hands.
Naturally, rumours have been popping up left, right and centre that the NZ-only edition of Super Rugby could welcome back some of the country’s former stars to the fold.
The Highlanders, in particular, lost a raft of talented players to Japan last year and enjoyed a slower start to the original Super season than their local rivals.
Elliot Dixon, Jackson Hemopo, Liam Squire, Tom Franklin, Marty Banks, Richard Buckman and Tevita Li all called time on their Highlanders careers at the end of last year and it showed in the results with the southern men managing just one win from four matches.
The new semi-season will only make things tougher for the Highlanders. Their four Kiwi rivals were all ranked in Super Rugby’s top six before the competition was called to a halt and now the Highlanders will be expected to play those top teams week-in and week-out.
While there have been no confirmed new contracts as yet, one man who definitely won’t be jumping back into a Highlanders jersey is Elliot Dixon, who played more than a century of games for the side over nine years.
Dixon is currently contracted to Ricoh Black Rams and despite being back home in New Zealand, won’t be available for his former side. That’s not necessarily because he’s prevented from doing so by his new club, or because the Highlanders haven’t come calling, however.
As a dynamic and physically confrontational loose forward, Dixon has been beset by niggly injuries over his 10-year professional career and the extended break from the game is exactly what he needs to get his body back in top condition.
Even prior to the Top League’s cancellation, Dixon was set to undergo back surgery that’s been on the cards for a number of years.
“I’ve been planning to get it done for a while and it just so happened that the coronavirus kind of threw our season off so I got permission by Ricoh,” Dixon told RugbyPass from his home in Christchurch, the city where he was born and raised.
“I’ve had a bad back since 2016. It’s just been progressively getting a little bit worse every couple of months and then I was just about to get it done, that’s why I flew back, and then lockdown happened so it got delayed.
“It’s just an S1-L5, just a herniated disc, so they’re just going to clean that out – not fusion or anything like that, which is good. We’ll just see how that goes and hopefully that will free up the nerve pain and stuff like that. Recovery time is pretty quick, which is good, and then I’ll be back into it.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAHJ_44A7wk/
Dixon was one of the side’s key enforcers during his tenure with the Highlanders and threw himself into countless rucks, mauls and tackles so there were plenty of opportunities for the loose forward to inflict a little bit of lasting damage upon himself.
“I can’t remember a particular incident [that caused the problems] but I just started getting numb pain down my legs and stuff like that after running and after training,” Dixon said.
“Then I’d get a sore back or tight hammies or other referral pain, so I didn’t really get it checked out properly until 2018. I got an MRI and that showed the herniated disc and then I got a couple of injections which kind of took the symptoms away but then it came back with a vengeance after three months so we decided after this season to get it done.”
It’s a problem that’s been brewing for almost half a decade now and although it’s caused a few issues in the past, Dixon’s just grateful that bone fusion isn’t required because that could impact his flexibility and movement in the future.
“If you get a fusion then that’s about six months [of recovery time], and then return to play,” he said. “But then, of course, I’m here without physios and stuff so it’d probably drag on a little bit longer.
“There’s a lot of contact in the flanker jersey and jumping in the lineout and in scrums and stuff like that – although I don’t do too much in the scrums anyway, just poke my head up and wait until the balls gone or check the refs got his back turned and run away.
“But I think in any contact sport, you’ve got to be a little bit more careful with those kind of injuries and just take a couple more months – which we’ve probably got now because we’re not starting until January next year anyway so I’ve got a lot of time which is perfect. I can slowly do my rehab and don’t have to push anything to get back to a certain date.”
Of course, although Dixon has rehab to focus on for the next while, it doesn’t make the prolonged absence from the game that he’s been sharing with professional players around the world any easier and he’s struggled somewhat to keep himself occupied.
“It is a long haul but I’ve just got to think of it as a chance to work on niggles and work on different parts of my body that I haven’t been able to do for a while,” Dixon said.
“I don’t have one of those nice homemade gyms like some of the boys; I’ve just got the kids to pick up and put down and throw around on the tramp, so that’s what I’m doing.
The @Highlanders have confirmed the signing of former All Blacks wing Nehe Milner-Skudder on a two-year deal.https://t.co/B0xHV6huSu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 13, 2020
Thankfully, the continued lockdown hasn’t harmed the humour that Dixon was well known for during his time in New Zealand.
“The wee one, she’s only four months old so she’s not heavy enough to do a bench press with or anything like that. I’ll just have to wait until old mate turns 5 and then he should be getting to about 17, 18 kgs – that’s enough for me.”
While Dixon’s rehab won’t lend him the chance to don the blue jersey of the Highlanders once again, he suspected that a few of his former teammates could potentially get the opportunity.
“It just depends on what the clubs are willing to do,” Dixon said.
“I suppose they probably don’t want to be paying their players for a chance to maybe get an injury but if they’ve got a good relationship or partnership with the club then I suppose they could definitely send some of their players to come play Super Rugby, for numbers.
“I’m sure that there’s enough New Zealand players that are wanting to play but I’m also sure that there’s going to be a lot of injuries. New Zealand vs New Zealand for what is it, 20 games? I’m glad I’m not doing that.
“They’re always the games on the calendar where you note that you’re not going to be able to walk for a couple of days afterwards so you’re not going to be training until Tuesday. If you’re doing that week-in, week-out for four weeks, it’s going to be tough.”
While the thought of a number of New Zealand’s top former players potentially returning for the upcoming refreshed Super Rugby season would whet the appetite of fans across the country (and potentially around the globe), some consideration certainly must be given to the athletes who are going to be slogging it out week after week.
There will certainly be some men who, after spending a few months causing havoc in Japan, will miss the physicality of Super Rugby – but there will also be plenty of players who left New Zealand specifically to avoid that physicality and wanted to prolong their careers.
Like Elliot Dixon, there will also be a number of professionals who simply need the rest from the game that they’re so rarely afforded due to the packed calendar.
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
4 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments