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Western Force's successful recruitment drive saves Aussie rules players from being monstered by Richard Kahui

By Tom Vinicombe
Richard Kahui. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Richard Kahui had all but come to terms with the fact that he was never going to play Super Rugby again. While the coronavirus pandemic has scuppered many a plan, it’s now been the making of Kahui’s return to the competition he loves – albeit for a new team.

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The Western Force have signed the former All Black for Super Rugby AU, which is the Force’s first foray into Super Rugby since they were evicted from the competition at the end of 2017.

From the time the Force reached out to Kahui, who lives on the Gold Coast but typically spends the better part of the year in Japan representing the Toshiba Brave Lupus, it took just four days for the 2011 World Cup winner to sign on the dotted line. Had the Force not come calling, Kahui wouldn’t be playing any further professional rugby this year. In fact, he would have been playing a different sport altogether.

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Richard Kahui Interview

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Richard Kahui Interview

“I actually haven’t been out of training too long – I was training to play Aussie rules, with the first game kicking off this weekend,” Kahui told RugbyPass.

“A friend of mine came to me and said, ‘What are you up to? Why don’t you come and kick a ball around?’ So I went down and just loved it. The team was really good to me, took me in and it was just a really good way of keeping fit without pounding the pavement on my own. I love team sports and I love being in a group and that team environment.”

The sport was originally an opportunity for Kahui to simply keep his body in check, with the next Top League season not due to kick off until January.

“I was just doing it for some fitness and to do something that wasn’t as contact heavy as rugby but still get a bit of contact in and a bit of running around. The more I did it to keep fit, I thought, ‘Well actually, this might be fun to play as well.’ Fortunately enough, the Force popped up and I’ll be playing footy instead.

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“There are some bullets flying in Aussie rules but if I did play seriously, I think I’d try and stay away from the argy-bargy because I’ve obviously still got to do a job for my club in Japan, Toshiba, and now, here with the Force.

“So I’m not totally out of shape – just in a slightly different shape than what you’d expect a rugby player to be in.”

A number of Australian and New Zealand players who now represent Japanese clubs are back in their home countries while the coronavirus pandemic rages on.  The Top League was called off in March, which means that many professional sportsman have been left without any professional sports to play – but few have signed up with Super Rugby clubs due to the potential risks that are involved.

“Toshiba’s been an outstanding club to me, they’ve always treated me well, whether it’s time to get home to see my family or whatever – they were really accommodating for this and I’m really thankful for that,” Kahui said. “I do appreciate the ability to come out and do this and I think they see the value of it as well.

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“I’m coming back playing Super Rugby, I get to keep the wheels ticking over during our off-season in Japan and hopefully I can take a little bit more experience of something different back to Japan.

“I’ve had four months off so far and I’m not scheduled to play in Japan until January while this is going to finish probably in September. It’s still a long amount of time if I pick up any niggles or anything to sort them out and be back ready to fire for Toshiba. I think, all-round, it’s a win-win.”

The 35-year-old played 60 games of Super Rugby for the Chiefs and 18 tests for New Zealand. He joins fellow former All Black Jeremy Thrush in a squad which has recruited well since being invited to play in Super Rugby AU. Former Wallabies Kyle Godwin, Nick Frisby, Pek Cowan and Greg Holmes have all joined the Force’s ranks to add some much-needed experience to a side boasting plenty of promising Australian talent.

“There are quite a lot of young guys in this team that have played Rapid Rugby and age-group rugby here in Australia but haven’t played any Super,” Kahui said. “So it’s quite a cool group because everyone’s really eager to learn and everyone’s really excited.

“I noticed that, when I came into the group, everyone was fizzing to be back in Super Rugby and to have that opportunity. I remember what it was like as a young guy myself, being asked to play Super Rugby and just how inspiring it is and how it makes you feel to be out there, playing a competition that is one of the best in the world. So it’s really nice to be around that energy again and it’s sort of rubbing off on me and I’m starting to feel a little bit younger than I am.”

The Force rushed many of their recent recruits into the match-day 23 for their first game of the competition, a 23-14 loss to the Waratahs last weekend. Kahui, despite only recently joining the squad, could be on the park shortly too.

“I was hoping to get out this week but I’m not sure if that’ll be the case,” said Kahui. “The coaches have got a plan for me – just easing me back into contact and things because they don’t want to just throw me in and have me break. I think next week would be the latest but I’m still a chance for this week.”

You can bet that a fair few more Kiwi fans will be tuning into Super Rugby AU as soon as Kahui makes a return, just to catch sight of the man who dominated attackers with his crushing tackles when he was playing for Waikato, the Chiefs and the All Blacks.

“I’m still sort of getting over the fact that I’m back playing Super Rugby and all the pressures and stuff that goes with that,” Kahui said. “The thing that I’m most excited about is just playing footy in a competition that I just really love.

“It’s a real shame that obviously we don’t have the trans-Tasman Super Rugby at the moment; it’d be great to play against the Chiefs or something like but maybe that’ll happen in seasons to come, who knows.

“It’s just a really great opportunity for me – not one that I thought I’d be back doing, playing Super rugby again. It’s something that I thought I left behind when I left the shores of Aotearoa but here I am, playing in Australia.”

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J
Jon 5 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”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 8 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.

33 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

33 Go to comments
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