'I broke down in tears': How Dan Carter saved former All Blacks captain from breakdown
Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read has opened up on the mental toll the Christchurch earthquakes took on him in 2011 and how Dan Carter brought him back from tears.
In his book Straight 8, Read detailed the events surrounding the devastation caused by the earthquakes, which resulted in 185 deaths, 200 injuries and millions of dollars of damage to the city.
After the first 6.2 magnitude quake hit in February 2011, Read said he panicked when he was unable to get in contact his wife Bridget, who was home with their daughter Elle.
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“I couldn’t reach Bridget on the phone. All around us was chaos,” he said.
“I drove as fast as I could to get home, but the water concealed every crack and hole that had opened in the roads, and the short journey took close to half an hour.
“I finally arrived to see Bridget standing in the driveway holding Elle, looking determined to get out of there as quickly as possible. She had already packed a bag for the baby and sorted a plan.”
Read described his shock as they accessed the damage the earthquake had caused to their home.
“I looked out into the backyard to see geysers of mud erupt across the lawn … A lake of silt and water was spreading across the section with no sign of abating.
“The earth beneath us quite literally turned to liquid mud.
“We were transfixed by the scene and by the time the flow was over, almost a foot of fresh mud covered the entire lawn, and it seeped through the sunken corner of our living room.”
Read and his family retreated to his aunt and uncle’s home in Burnside, where damage had been minimal.
The Crusaders’ game against the Hurricanes was soon called off and Read said he got to work putting the pieces of his home back together.
Things settled in the months which followed before Christchurch experienced another large aftershock.
It was just four days before the Crusaders’ final round-robin game against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
Read said it was one of the toughest times of his life – at least until Carter came to his aid.
“I had only just got the section back in order and watched out my window as the mud and water began oozing up through the ground again, just as it had in February,” he said. “I don’t know if I was mentally and physically exhausted from the travel and the grind, but as I picked up the things that had fallen off walls and watched the earth swallow my lawn, I broke down in tears and started to sob.
“For the first time in my life I felt like I was having a breakdown. I sat there, crying, steeling myself to shovel mud for the next few days.
“It was only a call from Dan Carter asking if everything was all right and if a few of his Southbridge Rugby Club boys could help me out, that snapped me back out of my funk.”
The Crusaders defeated the Hurricanes 16-9 and then hosted the Sharks in the Super Rugby quarter-final in Nelson, which they won 36-8.
“Once again the city came alive for us,” he said. “It would have taken a great side to beat us in that quarter-final, such was our desire to end our time in Nelson on a high note.”
The Crusaders narrowly missed the out on the 2011 title, losing to the Reds in the final.
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.
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Comments on RugbyPass
RIP big man 🙏
1 Go to commentsThe GB coach. “Just because we don’t get together as much as other teams we don’t use that as an excuse for performances when we don’t hit the mark”. Why mention it at all then?
1 Go to commentsNo mention of the yellow card for Harlequins which really cost them.
3 Go to commentsThought you’d left us Nick. Good to have you back writing for us. So hunter ikitau works? I reckon wright kellaway as two of the back 3. Tim Ryan and Toole looking good for strike winger but I still want the power of korobeiti and figure our forwards still need him to help them out. Million dollar question is who plays 10? I’m thinking Noah for his kicking and combo with wright. Reckon the pair adds up to an attack and kellaway will help. Can you comment on Zac Lucas in Japan? How is he going?
1 Go to commentsMack Hansen, Ethan Roots, Taine Plumbtree, Louis Lynagh, Emmanuel Meafou? Which country do you want to pick your Barbarians from?
3 Go to commentsInstead of apologising, try to act like an adult, fcknut.
3 Go to commentsLooks like the Force twisted his leg…ahem arm
5 Go to commentsScotland should change their name to the Barbarians
3 Go to commentsThe game was already over leave the bloke alone ….from a Welsh fan 😀👍
3 Go to commentsShamefully the Toulouse players acted like footballers, falling down feigning injury at the slightest knock. About time refs penalised this play acting.
8 Go to commentsAnother non Scot for the anti Scot Townsend. Soon there will be no Scottish born and bred players in the National team.
3 Go to commentsGreat comeback to the playing field by Richie Mo’unga after the loss of his father. A great performance by Richie . I know him well and he is a great guy. On and off the field one of the greatest for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson would have loved him in his All Black’s side. A very missed player and person.
3 Go to commentsYeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
3 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
5 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
5 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
5 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
16 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
16 Go to comments