Western Force's successful recruitment drive saves Aussie rules players from being monstered by Richard Kahui
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Ever wondered what life was like for former @AllBlacks midfielder Richard Kahui, having season after season cut short due to injuries? https://t.co/1zu2zOnuNV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 17, 2019
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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
5 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
5 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
5 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
33 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis 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 commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
2 Go to commentsBut 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 commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
33 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
2 Go to commentsThanks 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 commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
33 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
33 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to comments