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'Part of my motivation': Nehe Milner-Skudder 'hopeful' of All Blacks recall
More than three years after playing the last of his 13 tests for the All Blacks, Nehe Milner-Skudder is refusing to eliminate the prospect of a test rugby comeback.
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Bouncing back from the depths of injury peril, which sidelined him for two years, to the glitz and glamour of international rugby would certainly be miraculous, especially given Milner-Skudder is without a full-time Super Rugby contract.
Instead, he is currently on an interim training deal with the Hurricanes, who he last played for in 2018, following a barren two-season spell at the Highlanders where he made just one sole appearance.
That hasn’t dismayed Milner-Skudder, though, who spoke openly in a recent interview with RugbyPass about his eagerness to make a full-fledged return to the newly-formed Super Rugby Pacific with the Hurricanes in 2022.
The 2015 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year doesn’t want to stop there either. In fact, Milner-Skudder says the prospect of an All Blacks recall is fuelling his motivation for a Super Rugby comeback.
That isn’t to say Milner-Skudder isn’t oblivious to the challenges working against his favour. Not only does he have to force his way past the likes of Jordie Barrett, Salesi Rayasi, Julian Savea, Wes Goosen and Ruben Love at the Hurricanes, but he’s also stuck behind a logjam of talent in the national pecking order.
Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Caleb Clarke, Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece and George Bridge are just some of the names that have featured in the outside backs for the All Blacks since the last World Cup, and a slew of others like Rayasi, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Jona Nareki are lurking on the periphery of the squad.
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Trying to usurp those players at the age of 31 while continuing his long-term recovery from a problematic shoulder injury leaves the odds heavily stacked against Milner-Skudder’s chances of a test rugby recall, and he knows it.
However, the World Cup-winning star is approaching the mountainous task at hand with the optimism of a person who has stared through the face of adversity and come out the other side better for it.
“Yeah, I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of my motivation,” Milner-Skudder told RugbyPass of his ambition to earn re-selection for the All Blacks.
“But I’m still well aware of where I currently am at. Being realistic of my situation, I think, if I strive to be the best player that I can be, hopefully the outcome of that would be putting on a black jersey again.
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“For me, just being on my feet, just working bloody hard and striving to be the best player I can be. If that’s good enough to be in the All Blacks, then that’ll be absolutely incredible.”
After a tumultuous few years, former All Blacks star Nehe Milner-Skudder is eager to make his mark after returning to the Hurricanes last week. #SuperRugbyPacific #Hurricanes #AllBlacks https://t.co/rd4riisQSn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 20, 2021
The first step towards making his way back into the All Blacks squad is regular game time, something he was starved of at the Highlanders and in his final year at the Hurricanes in 2019.
Injury and the form of those around him played their parts in keeping Milner-Skudder out of action, but that hasn’t been the case at NPC level for Manawatu.
Milner-Skudder has been a regular presence for the Turbos since last year, making a total of 17 appearances over the past two seasons.
That extensive game time has paid dividends in the recovery and rehabilitation of his shoulder, which he first dislocated while playing for the Hurricanes in 2016 and has struggled with ever since.
“It’s holding up well. Like you were saying, I got through that Manawatu season and strung together a few games and pulled up pretty good after most of them, so it’s doing well,” Milner-Skudder said.
“I’ll just keep chipping away to make sure I stay on top of things so I can go out on the field and give it a good nudge.”
Should continue to stay injury-free and edge his way back into All Blacks contention, Milner-Skudder may be able to offer Ian Foster’s squad some tips after having watched the side from afar over the past few campaigns.
Like most other Kiwi rugby fans, Milner-Skudder watched on as the All Blacks staggered to an underwhelming finish to the 2021 season where they fell to back-to-back defeat at the hands of Ireland and France.
Those losses were compounded by a further loss to the Springboks during the Rugby Championship, putting Foster in the hot seat in the eyes of the New Zealand faithful.
Milner-Skudder has a more measured view on how his former side fared this year, though, as he paid tributes to the herculean efforts of Ireland and France against the Kiwis in Dublin and Paris last month.
Only five non-All Blacks, three of whom are Springboks, have been voted into a fan-selected all-time XV. #RugbyPassHallofFame https://t.co/qFv3pKaJHr
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 20, 2021
“Obviously they were the talk of the town with those last couple of results, but it’s hard because, in the world we live in, everyone has their opinion, so to speak,” he told RugbyPass.
“It’s been a big year for a lot of people. Without trying to make excuses, I think just laying all the facts out about how tough the year was, the travel, and giving credit to the northern hemisphere teams.
“Any team would have had a tough job beating them when they played like Ireland and France on those days, but, as they say, the sun came up the next day and the boys are into their break now and they’ll do all their reviews.”
Milner-Skudder suggested the loss of the South African sides from Super Rugby may have been a factor in the loss to the Springboks, but labelled New Zealand Rugby’s recruitment of Joe Schmidt as an All Blacks selector as an astute piece of business.
“For me, it’s more about understanding the different styles of play. It’s different what they play up there compared to down here. All the Super Rugby teams, even most of the Aussie teams, will play the same way,” Milner-Skudder said.
“South Africa, probably a little bit different, that’s why we struggled against them, but seeing Joe Schmidt involved in that selecting role and maybe advising or helping out with all his expertise, his experience coaching Ireland, that might get the group an understanding around how they play and coming up with different strategies on how to take those teams on.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The 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.
15 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
15 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.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
15 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
15 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to comments