'The doctor said I would never play again': All Black Nepo Laulala upbeat ahead of first season with Blues
In 2016, one year after making his All Blacks debut, Nepo Laulala shifted north from the Crusaders to the Chiefs. The move didn’t go to plan, however, with Laulala suffering a horrific knee injury that kept him off the park for the entire season.
Heading into his first season with the Blues, Laulala will be hopeful that no such fate befalls him ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Hurricanes in Wellington.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had quite a few season-ending injuries, and I wasn’t able to pick up the games I probably should have,” Laulala said in the build-up to the opening weekend of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
“It’s been really tough. There were doubts. With my knee, the doctor said I would never play again. That annoyed me and made me want to prove him wrong. I wanted to use that as my inspiration and come back from it, and hopefully, also, there might help someone out there who has the same thing and sees that you can come back from it.”
In his five seasons contracted to the Chiefs, Laulala played in just 41 matches. He missed 39.
While some of that was no doubt to the strong depth the Chiefs possessed in the front row, many of his absences were due to unfortunate and untimely injuries.
Laulala wasn’t the only Chiefs prop struck down either. Fellow All Blacks Angus Ta’avao and Atu Moli have spent considerable time on the sidelines while Mitch Graham was eventually forced to retire after suffering a bad leg injury at the 2017 Brisbane Tens competition. Aidan Ross has also had his struggles.
Naturally, Laulala will be hoping that his run of poor luck is behind him – and the former Wesley College student will have to be on his best form, given the strength at the Blues’ disposal.
Laulala will be competing with Ofa Tuungafasi for minutes on the tighthead side of the scrum, while the pairs’ All Blacks teammates, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Alex Hodgman will battle it out for the starting loosehead berth.
As it so happens, former Bristol Bears prop James Lay will wear the No 1 jersey in Saturday’s match-up while Laulala gets the first chance to impress at No 3. Tu’inukuafe and Tuungafasi, meanwhile, will cover from the bench.
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“It’s awesome, there’s good healthy competition and it will help us improve each other and there’s longevity as well because we can share the minutes and share the load in the games,” Laulala said.
“We’ve got a good thing going here, we’ve got a good pack. I just want to enjoy my season as well and have as much fun as we can. As long as we keep our culture going we should be good,” he said.
Super Rugby Aotearoa will be streamed live and on demand for RugbyPass subscribers across the UK and in parts of Europe and Asia. The competition kicks off on Friday with the Highlanders hosting the Crusaders before the Blues take on the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments