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'I'm just going to keep doing it': Dane Coles responds to player poll that saw him voted the 'biggest grub' in New Zealand

By Online Editors
(Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

All Blacks and Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles isn’t planning on changing the way he plays rugby despite being voted the “biggest grub” in a New Zealand player poll.

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44 percent of Super Rugby players nationwide voted Coles as the “biggest grub” in the country as part of an anonymous poll conducted by NZME radio producer Sam Casey earlier this year.

The 33-year-old veteran topped the poll by a considerable margin, with All Blacks teammate Brodie Retallick registering in second-place with just 15 percent of the vote, while Jordie Barrett was voted the third-biggest grub at 10 percent.

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Speaking on the What a Lad podcast, hosted by fellow Hurricanes teammate James Marshall, Coles conceded the results were a fair reflection of how he plays, but said he isn’t concerned that his peers view him as New Zealand’s biggest grub.

“Yeah, probably true to be fair,” Coles said when asked for his thoughts on the poll. 

“As you get older, you just got to embrace it, and that’s what I kind of am [doing].

“I can’t do much about it. It’s what the people want and I guess that’s what they’ve voted, so I’ve got to get on with it.”

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The 69-test All Black said he put his on-field antics down to his passion for winning, and outlined he has no intention of changing the way he conducts himself during matches.

“It probably just comes out as passion and just trying to do everything I can to win. Sometimes it comes out a verbal spray, and I’ve copped it. I’ve been sin binned for the way I play, with my heart on my sleeve, and I probably play on the edge,” he said.

“Things don’t always go to plan and I’ve got to live with that, but that’s just who I am and it’s got me this far, so I’m just going to keep doing it.”

Coles added that the way he goes about playing the game is “just what happens on the field”, and maintained that none of his banter with opposition players have been personal attacks.

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“It’s nothing personal. I’ve had things on the field, but as soon as that game’s finished, I’ll shake your hand and walk off and have a beer with you.

“I’ve never carried it on and hold grudges and stuff like that. It’s just what happens on the field.”

Marshall described his Hurricanes teammate as a “misunderstood” figure, pointing to another result from the poll that saw Coles voted as the third-most respected player in New Zealand behind All Blacks captain Sam Cane and Retallick.

Coles said that misconception of how he is off the field compared to what he is like on it has led to many questions from fans about how he behaves outside of rugby.

“I do get that a lot, questions from kids and other people, like, ‘Are you real angry off the field?’, and I’m like, ‘No!’

“I was like, ‘If you keep asking that question I’ll probably get angry’, but no, I’m not. 

“It wouldn’t be sustainable being the way I am on the field off the field. I wouldn’t have a wife and three kids, that’s for sure.”

One of Coles’ most notable on-field duels in recent memory came during the opening weekend of Super Rugby Aotearoa when he faced off against the Blues at Eden Park two months ago.

The match was his former Hurricanes teammate Beauden Barrett’s debut for the Auckland franchise after he inked a four-year deal with the club last year.

As a long-serving Hurricanes stalwart, Coles was vocal about his disappointment in seeing Barrett depart Wellington for the Blues, and he made sure the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year knew about it during the encounter.

While the Hurricanes lost the match 30-20, Coles drew plenty of attention in the opening minutes when he celebrated a try by swarming Barrett along with his teammates.

The pair engaged in some pushing and shoving in the dying minutes of the clash, Coles admitted he was wary of not being drawn into a personal war of words as he revealed he has said things to other players in the past that he has since come to regret.

“In the past, I’ve said stuff that I’ve regretted to players. Media or people will talk it up [and] say something, so you’re like ‘If I get this guy, I’m going to say this’,” he said.

“With Baz [Barrett], because we’re obviously good mates, I didn’t want to say anything that was personal, so during the week, I was thinking, ‘Don’t say anything personal, don’t be a d***head and ruin your friendship’.”

Although he made sure not to go overboard with his chat, Coles said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to run over Barrett en route to scoring his try, and commended his All Blacks teammate for the way he handled the competitive edge.

“It was like a movie. I just seen him and was like, ‘I’m going to try and run over him’.

“I didn’t even plan anything, I just got up and I seen him and I was like ‘Yeah, Bazza!’ and the boys just jumped on him.

“But, to his credit, he took it like a champ… It was all good fun. Like I said, [we] had a beer after the game and that was it, we left it on the field. He’s a good man, Baz.”

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
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Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
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Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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