How an Instagram message from Tony Brown changed the trajectory of Jamie Booth's career
For the first four years of Jamie Booth’s Super Rugby career, the Manawatu halfback struggled to lock down anything beyond a one year contract. Now, the 26-year-old is halfway through a two year deal with the Hurricanes – an opportunity that’s really only presented itself due to the strides that Booth made during his 2019 stint with the Sunwolves.
Booth, a 2012 New Zealand secondary schools representative, made his provincial debut in 2014 for the Turbos and found himself drafted into the Blues set-up six months later as an injury replacement for Bryn Hall. With Jamison Gibson-Park and former All Black Jimmy Cowan also on the books, however, Booth was never able to crack the match-day squad.
Brief stints with the Newcastle Falcons, Highlanders, Hurricanes and New Zealand sevens team followed – but nowhere was prepared to sign the dynamic halfback on anything more than a one-year deal.
In early 2019, with not even a full-time contract with the Hurricanes locked in, Booth received a message out of the blue from Sunwolves coach and Kiwi rugby mastermind Tony Brown.
“The Hurricanes hadn’t picked me in their squad,” Booth told RugbyPass. “They offered me a 10-week replacement player deal the for pre-season and I was pretty much just starting that – then Tony Brown hit me up on Instagram.
“He basically just asked me what my plans were and what I was up to and I told him that I was with the Canes as an injury replacement. He asked if I would be keen to come over to Japan and play for the Sunwolves.”
Two weeks later, Booth had signed on for the season with everyone’s second favourite Super Rugby side and was on a plane to Japan.
While the opportunity to play in Japan was alluring for Booth, it was the chance to be a full-time professional that really got him over the line.
“I’ve noticed in the few times that I’ve been involved full-time, how much I’ve grow as a player. I sort of just saw it as an opportunity to keep growing and keep learning.
“I feel like rugby in New Zealand can be so serious at times, and there’s so much expectation to perform and to play well, that you can almost forget why you’re doing it. For me, going over to the Sunwolves, I really found the enjoyment back in playing again.”
Just weeks into the Sunwolves season, however, SANZAAR announced that the team would be culled from Super Rugby at the end of 2020. That galvanised the squad and by the end of the competition, the Sunwolves had picked up first-ever wins against the Chiefs and Waratahs – which doubled as their first-ever wins on New Zealand and Australian soil.
At the end of the year, Booth was offered a contract extension with the Tokyo-based team and the then-25-year-old was seriously considering signing on for another season.
"Whenever you got pulled into Tana’s office just by yourself, usually it wasn’t great news."
In 2016, Bryn Hall was dropped by the Blues. A year later, he was a #SuperRugby winner. The @CrusadersRugby halfback spoke to @TomVinicombe about his move south.https://t.co/0fVJkgSgsf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 30, 2020
“I just loved my time with the Sunwolves so much,” Booth said, “But all the management was moving on and pretty much 90% of the players were moving on too because they had to play for their Top League teams in 2020, so they weren’t going to be involved.
“I didn’t know who the coaches were going to be, who the other players were going to be, and the unknown was a bit scary.”
It also would have meant that Booth was once again inking a short-term deal, due to the impending ejection of the Sunwolves from the competition. Thankfully, another option presented itself.
The Hurricanes, the team that Booth supported during his childhood and the side that he’d had a brief stint with in 2018, tabled an offer to get the halfback back in New Zealand.
“When the Canes first talked to me, they asked what they’d need to offer for me to come back,” said Booth. I was like, ‘Two years would be the start’.
“A massive part about coming back home was around the certainty of knowing a little bit about the future. I’d never signed with a team for two years or longer, I’d only ever had one year. I never really had certainty about what I was doing, which could be pretty frustrating at times.”
The Hurricanes put a two-year deal on the table and Booth then had to make a call on his future.
“I sort of weighed up two years versus six months [what was on offer with Sunwolves], the unknown versus the known and, in the end, I felt what was best for me as a rugby player was to come back to New Zealand.”
With another year of full-time rugby and experience under his belt, Booth was determined to have more of an impact in 2020 than when he previously played for the Hurricanes in 2018.
“I felt like in 2018, the coaches sort of never really wanted to take TJ [Perenara] off because they didn’t really trust the guys in behind,” said Booth.
“So that was probably one of my big goals. I knew I was never going to get lots of starts or big minutes, but I wanted the coaches to trust that if something was to happen, they could put me on and not have to worry too much.”
Right from the outset, Booth was thrust into the action courtesy of some orders passed down from the powers-that-be.
“I was really lucky because they were doing those All Blacks minutes at the start of the year – they had restrictions on how long they could play for,” Booth said. “Their hand was forced, and I knew it was an opportunity for me to show the coaches that I could do that role and to earn their trust.
“I think one of the games I played was like 30 minutes then 12 minutes and 25 or something like that. That’s pretty big minutes for a reserve halfback at the Hurricanes.”
While he naturally wanted to prove his worth, there was never any pressure on Booth to play the way that Perenara does.
“Alfie [Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland] just had heaps of conversations with me about getting to the ball fast and getting rid of it,” said Booth. “Then whatever happens, happens after that – but do that first. That just put me in good stead and really helped I reckon.
“I had a really great, enjoyable season. I felt like every time I got an opportunity, I put my best foot forward.
“I wasn’t worried about playing well or whatever. I was just going out and having some fun.”
"I just didn’t have that same attachment to the Blues."
Jack Goodhue spoke to @TomVinicombe about his move from Northland to @CrusadersRugby and where his North v South allegiance lies.https://t.co/G3yDGVjMj5
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 7, 2020
Booth always added plenty of impetus off the Hurricanes bench and his deceptively quick speed coupled with his smart running lines meant the halfback was regularly in support to score tries or provide the final pass.
While the birth of Perenara’s first child in the final week of Super Rugby Aotearoa may have forced the Hurricanes coaches hands, gifting Booth a rare start, Holland and co would likely have had absolute confidence that the Turbo could get the job done – a complete turnaround from two years prior.
“Getting that start was awesome,” Booth said. “Sometimes, when you come off the beach, you’re just expected to join everyone’s level. When you start the game, everyone builds into the game, and you can build into the game, and you get momentum from that as well.
“It was tough on the lungs. I was blowing big time and I remember getting pulled at about the 55-minute mark and I sat down on the bench and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I’m buggered.’”
Nine years after first earning selection in the Hurricanes Under 18 side (a squad which also included fellow Palmerston North Boys’ High School student Ngani Laumape), Jamie Booth has finally nailed down a permanent spot with his local franchise – he’s just had to travel halfway around the world to do it. Now, the Turbos captain’s future is filled with promise.
It’s a good time to be a halfback in New Zealand, with the three men who travelled to last year’s World Cup unlikely to also make the trip in 2023. Despite the excellent impact that Booth has added from the bench, however, higher honours aren’t on the radar at this stage, with Booth still content working his way up the chain at the Hurricanes.
“I think I’m probably well down that national pecking order in terms of halfbacks. I’m not really too focused on any of that stuff at the moment. I still feel like there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before anything like that has to be thought about.
“Halfback is a specialist position. The beauty of it is most weeks they’re going to take two halfbacks in the 23 and if there’s only three of you in the squad, there’s a high chance that you’re going to be involved most weeks.
“Everyone wants to play big minutes; everyone wants to start. I suppose it’s just weighing up expectations of playing time versus where you want to go. At the moment, I’m really happy with what’s happening, and how the season went. In two years’ time, will I be in that same position? Who knows? I suppose it’s just as a player, understanding it, and accepting it, and then figuring out what you want to do and where you want to go that will probably dictate a few things.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments