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'The injuries I had, people think of them as career-ending': All Blacks Sevens' new recruit spent 18 months on the sidelines
In late 2018, having undergone his fourth major surgery in a little over a year, Moses Leo could have been forgiven for turning his back on his dreams of being a professional rugby player.
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Because for 18 months, Leo was unable to take the field and play the game he loved, instead having to watch and wait, just hoping that when he was finally fit and ready to go, he would find himself with an opportunity to prove that he had what it takes to play rugby at the highest level.
It’s a good thing that Leo didn’t give up on his dream, because the promising 23-year-old has finally cracked the big leagues, earning selection in the first New Zealand national sevens squad for 2021.
The troubles started back in 2016 when, during a club rugby match for Takapuna, Leo found himself in the path of a rampaging prop who had broken through the first line of defence.
“It wasn’t the best sight to see,” Leo recalled, “but it tests the old character when you’re out there.
“I turned to tackle him but my arm got caught up above my head. He fell forward over me and pushed my arm back past the point it’s supposed to go and it just popped out. It wasn’t too painful, there weren’t any nerves or anything trapped underneath, thankfully, so it popped back in pretty easy.”
The shoulder didn’t trouble Leo much following the game, but three months down the track it popped back out – and the problems continued from there.
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“After that [second dislocation], it kind of set me on a spiral,” Leo said. “I had a bunch of dislocations but I just learned to play with it. I learned how to put it back in while in the middle of a game and I got pretty good at hiding when it happened.
It wasn’t until 2017, almost a year later, that Leo finally made the decision to get surgery on the troubled shoulder.
“I got to the end of the 2016 club season, playing prems, and I was having a lot of issues already. But then I played a full sevens season on it and that was a lot of one-on-one tackling – two or three times per game, and you’d play three or four games a day.
“I trialled for Samoa U20s and then I had an injury assessment and they asked if I had surgery planned for my shoulder. I told them it was planned for the end of the year and that sort of took me out of the equation.
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“A lot of people thought it was a bit of a risk having me in the team and that I was going to be more of a liability than an asset – and it wasn’t that nice to be looked at like that.
“I didn’t want to be a liability, and I knew that I had to sort it out if I wanted to go further with my rugby.”
As the Super Rugby Aotearoa, Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competitions inch closer to kick-off, we look at the 10 best wings across New Zealand and Australia.https://t.co/6GAIjS25P4
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 24, 2021
Surgery was all booked in for immediately after the 2017 club finals but Leo’s bad fortune was set to continue.
“A week before my shoulder surgery was planned, playing in the club semi-finals, someone fell on the outside of my ankle in a ruck and I heard a snap, which was my ankle breaking.
“So between that and my shoulder surgery, I was in a moon boot and a sling for pretty much 8 weeks. It was pretty interesting, especially having stairs in the house. I had to plan my trips downstairs because I knew I wasn’t going to be heading back up any time soon.
“That stopped me from keeping my legs ticking over. I had one crutch, one leg and one arm. It was a bit rough but it was all good, I just had to get through it.”
It wasn’t until three months following surgery that Leo was able to do any meaningful rugby-related exercises and start preparing again for the new club season. Just as the 2018 pre-season was getting underway, however, a bridge jump gone wrong left Leo needing surgery on his ACL. Things then went from bad to worse.
“Four weeks after my ACL surgery, I was just out walking and I slipped over, fell straight on top of my kneecap and it shattered,” said Leo. “We went straight to the hospital and they asked me if I’d always had a split in my kneecap – definitely not that I’d ever known of. I was on some pretty heavy painkillers and I was in hospital for just over a week.”
Come 2019, when Leo was finally ready to return to the field once more, and 18 months had passed since he had last played a competitive game of rugby and undergone his shoulder surgery.
Somewhat understandably, friends and family of the 23-year-old had questioned whether he would be willing to put his body on the line once more – but Leo had zero reservations.
“It was a long break but I think it helped me clarify what I really wanted and it allowed me to see the bigger picture,” Leo said of his one-and-a-half-year absence.
“I had a lot of people asking me what I was going to do now, thinking rugby wasn’t an option. The injuries I had, people think of them as career-ending injuries. Having been out of the game for so long, they just assumed I wouldn’t go back or I’d be scared of injuring myself again.
“My time away from the game helped me set me up and gave me a plan for the future and get some work experience – but it also made me hungrier. I knew what I wanted and despite the physical trauma that my body’s been through, I never lost sight of wanting to be a professional player. Rugby always calls me back.”
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Leo had no fears going into his first game of rugby following the extended break, part-way through the 2019 club season, that his body wouldn’t hold up. Instead, he was overwhelmed with excitement – and it’s been relatively smooth sailing since.
“I took my first contact and I was just laughing the whole time I had the ball in my hand. It was such a good feeling.
“For 2019, I just wanted to complete the season and get as much game time as possible. We only played four more games so I took it upon myself to play some league and get some contact under my belt. That was fun and it just made me love the game even more, to get back into it.”
It’s been a whirlwind ride for Leo ever since.
The centre-cum-wing played a full season with Takapuna in 2020 (or as full a season as was possible due to COVID-19) and was selected for the North Harbour development side. Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, a 67-cap All Blacks Sevens star, was a teammate of Leo’s at Harbour and put in a good word for the young star with the national coaches, which saw Leo invited to play at the Ignite 7s.
From there, Leo starred alongside the likes of Tim Mikkelson and Joe Webber for the Bolt selection, with the team emerging as the Ignite champions, and his form was rewarded with a coveted All Blacks Sevens contract.
“I don’t know if it’s luck or if someone’s watching over me, but I’m truly grateful,” Leo said. “The stars aligned and everything that’s happened has helped me get to where I am.”
While many would have given up following set-back after set-back, Moses Leo always remained confident that better days were ahead of him. That optimism has finally been rewarded, and the New Zealand sevens team will be the beneficiaries of the commitment, mental fortitude and talent that their new recruit possesses in spades.
Comments on RugbyPass
Yawn 🥱 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….
22 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 commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to comments