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‘It felt strange’: The All Black who could’ve been a Wallaby

By Finn Morton
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Hurricanes enforcer Tyrel Lomax finished last year’s end-of-season tour as the All Blacks’ first choice tighthead prop, but his career could’ve gone down a very different path.

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Lomax was almost a Wallaby.

Born in Canberra, Lomax lived on the other side of the ditch for the first four years of his life while his father played professional rugby league in the Australian capital.

But after moving to New Zealand as a young kid, Lomax dreamt of following in his father’s footsteps by playing international rugby league for the Kiwis.

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The future All Blacks’ father, John Lomax, even captained New Zealand – rising to legendary status during his famous career with the Canberra Raiders, North Queensland and Melbourne Storm.

For a while, that’s all Lomax wanted.

But as a teenager, Lomax’s family moved back across the Tasman to support his older brother who signed on to play rugby league.

That opportunity proved to be a turning point for an exciting young talent who’d also grown up playing the 13-player game. After moving to Australia, Tyrel began playing rugby union.

While he missed out on Australian Schoolboys selection, Lomax went on to star for the Junior Wallabies – and was even named the Australian U20s Player of the Year.

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Fast forward a few years, and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika invited Lomax to a training camp in 2017. The future All Black even posed for photos in a Wallabies jersey.

In an exclusive interview with RugbyPass, Lomax opened up about how that experience forced him to make a career-defining decision.

“There was sort of that little bit of pressure,” Lomax told RugbyPass.

“I’d been called into that Wallabies camp and sort of made me have to make my decision a little bit quicker, I couldn’t keep saying, ‘Oh I’m not too sure who I want to play for.’

“I had to make a decision and it was about where I wanted to play my career for the next 10 or so years and I just felt that was in New Zealand, closer to my family.

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“I was just looking at the bigger picture, my Dad played for the Kiwis and that was my dream as a kid.

“I always felt like I was a kiwi in Australia, I always just felt like New Zealand was my home.

“Had an opportunity to go into a Wallabies camp where I took that photo in a Wallabies jersey which was a bit strange but it was my first real crack at Super Rugby over there and it just happened pretty quickly.

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“That photo got taken and it felt a bit strange wearing that jersey because I always thought of myself as a kiwi that wanted to play for New Zealand.”

At the end of 2017, Melbourne Rebels front-rower Lomax had decided to head back to New Zealand to further his career.

Looking to live closer to his family, Lomax spoke with Super Rugby clubs in New Zealand, before inking a deal with the Dunedin-based Highlanders.

The former Brumbies development player signed a deal with the Landers ahead of the 2018 season, and went on to make his debut in the coveted black jersey later that year.

“When I went to the Highlanders, it just seemed like a really good culture. Ash Dixon picked me up in his Ute,” he added.

“The other couple of clubs that I went to were quite secretive about me being there, sort of came in, met the coaches, had a tour of the facilities on the boys’ days off.

“When I went to the Highlanders, Ash Dixon he picked me up and took me in, I met the team and was talking to them and watching them train and just had a really good culture.

“They were all in New Zealand, I’d made my decision then that I’d like to come back and play in New Zealand.”

Lomax later decided to move north to the capital, and is now one of the Hurricanes’ best players in Super Rugby Pacific.

The prop initially missed out on Ian Foster’s All Blacks squads for the three-Test series against Ireland last year, and also The Rugby Championship.

But after being called up for the tour to South Africa as injury cover, Lomax went on to star during the win over the Springboks at Ellis Park – and he hasn’t looked back since.

Following his sensational form in the black jersey last year, the prop is shaping up as a likely All Blacks squad member at this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

“It’s a huge goal.

“Obviously there’s a lot of rugby to be played before then and it’s just about getting there, there’s been a few guys get injured along the way.

“Just trying to stay fit and healthy and hopefully play well enough that I get selected and it’s a good call from Fossie this time, not like last year.”

Following his breakout campaign in the black jersey, Lomax recently signed a contract extension with New Zealand Rugby through until the end of 2026.

Lomax will remain with the Hurricanes for the next few seasons, and is also aligned with the Tasman Mako in the NPC.

“When I moved over I wasn’t even sure if I was good enough to make the All Blacks, they were always the best team in the world.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be like when I came over here but definitely no regrets.

“Even if I didn’t play for the All Blacks, I probably still wouldn’t have any regrets.”

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Jon 6 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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j
john 9 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.

35 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 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

35 Go to comments
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