Why Liam Squire will be sorely missed by the All Blacks and NZ rugby
After two years of battling persistent injuries to his knee and hip, former All Blacks star Liam Squire has made the decision to call time on his days as a rugby player.
Prioritising his health and well-being, the 30-year-old will now step away from the game that gave him 23 test caps for the All Blacks, almost half a century of Super Rugby appearances, an NPC title and a brief cameo in Japan’s Top League.
That’s a decent knock befitting a player who, when at the peak of his powers, was easily one of the most destructive players in New Zealand, if not worldwide.
You’d be a brave man to front up to the challenge of trying to stop a rampant Squire at full tilt – he was pretty rapid for a big guy – and you’d probably join the majority of those who tried and failed to do so.
Fiji and Melbourne Rebels halfback Moses Sorovi experienced that first-hand when he was used as a doormat in the lead-up to a Squire try while playing for the Reds against the Highlanders in Brisbane three years ago.
Likewise, former Springboks wing Raymond Rhule will still be having nightmares about trying to bring Squire to a halt from most kick-offs and restarts during the infamous 57-0 Albany thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks in 2017.
Rhule looked so intimidated by the fearlessness and aggression of Squire’s ball-carrying that he seemed content with just stepping aside and flinging his arms out in a reluctant, half-hearted attempt to stop the human bulldozer.
That, of course, ended with Squire swatting Rhule, who appeared desperate to avoid the consequence of defending an athlete as powerful as the former loose forward, aside with ease in what proved to be the Ghanian-born speedster’s last test match.
Such frail defence is rarely seen in test rugby, especially in matches between the All Blacks and Springboks, but fear can do funny things to people, and that was clearly what Squire instilled in the minds of his opponents.
That fear extended to those who were forced to endure the discomfort of coming into contact with Squire’s shoulder whenever he was on defence. The rugged nature of his attacking play was equally as damaging in the defensive side of his game as well.
It wasn’t uncommon to see Squire fly into tackles with minimal regard for his own safety, and the outcome was often spectacular.
More than that, his uncompromising defensive attitude was certainly effective in thwarting opposition attacks, and a highlights reel of his biggest hits would make for top-drawer viewing.
Former All Blacks star Liam Squire has announced his shock retirement from professional rugby due to a long-standing knee injury. #AllBlacks #Highlanders https://t.co/nEbEhMg5ui
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 12, 2021
Those aspects of his game will make Squire a dearly missed figure as he enters a probable post-playing career in farming, but perhaps no team will feel as empty-handed by his sudden retirement as the All Blacks.
Yes, it is the Highlanders who have drawn the short straw in this situation given Squire has hung up his boots halfway through a two-year deal in his second stint with the Dunedin-based franchise.
However, based on the evidence of their most recent showings against the Springboks, it is the All Blacks who might have benefitted the most from Squire’s explosive array of skills.
Outmuscled by South Africa’s bully-boy forward pack, the All Blacks were exposed in that they were bereft of hard-hitting enforcers who could stand up to and impose themselves on the Springboks like Squire could.
It was partly what cost them the match on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago, and, truth be told, New Zealand haven’t had a player of Squire’s ilk since he withdrew himself from World Cup contention in 2019 due to injuries and personal reasons.
With four of their next five matches coming against European opposition whose emphasis on forward dominance echoes that of the Springboks, the All Blacks sure would have benefitted from Squire’s services, had he been fully fit, over the next few weeks.
If all went to plan, All Blacks boss Ian Foster could have had him back in the black jersey as Squire outlined his desire to return to the top level of the game upon confirmation of his return to the Highlanders at the end of last year.
It wasn’t to be, though, meaning the All Blacks will have to make do with the likes of Akira Ioane and Shannon Frizell in the No 6 jersey against the Springboks and Europe’s elite.
As for Squire, retirement will provide him with the private way of life he prefers and is far more comfortable with than the highly-publicised role as a professional rugby player in New Zealand.
Swapping the footy field for acres of pasture suits him well, but you must wonder how much more there was to come from Squire, for the All Blacks and Highlanders, had injuries not prevailed.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments