LONG READ Alex Nankivell: 'Playing for Ireland wasn't my goal - it definitely is now'

“No rush, bro. All good. I’ve got all day.”

We have pushed beyond the 30-minute mark in conversation with Alex Nankivell. This may be a good distraction from the rain shooting sideways in Ireland but on the other end of the Zoom call, the Munster centre surely has better, sunnier places to be.

Munster are based in Sea Point, on the Cape Town shoreline, for their two-game URC stint in South Africa. Craig Casey linked up with the squad in Durban, where Clayton McMillan’s side were skittled 45-0 by Sharks, while fellow Ireland internationals Jack Crowley and Jeremy Loughman flew in ahead of this weekend’s match with the Bulls.

“It has been class having the boys come back in, so fingers crossed,” says Nankivell. “It’s always a tough one, playing at altitude, but we’ve done it before.”

The 29-year-old is into his third season at Munster and closing in on his 50^th appearance for the province. Such is the high regard in which he is held, he has a strong chance of becoming the first foreign import to represent Ireland at Test level since World Rugby increased its eligibility window from three to five years of residence.

When Nankivell first arrived in Limerick, he was asked about one day playing for Ireland. He was polite, and said all the right things. Back in October 2023, though, October 2028 (when he would become Irish qualified) seemed a lifetime away.

“When I signed, and I’ll say this openly to anyone, I never thought about playing international rugby,” he concedes. “It was more about, ‘how can I go and contribute to Munster?’ Then, when I came to my latest contract and sorting that out, there was some mention of becoming a project player. Because if I sign on again, I’ll qualify for Ireland halfway through that next contract. Since then I have definitely thought about it.

Now, the closer opportunity is to stay in Ireland, qualify to play for Ireland, have a crack and do my best to try get selected. That’s my goal right now.

“My dream growing up was to play international rugby, and that was for the All Blacks. But now, the closer opportunity is to stay in Ireland, qualify to play for Ireland, have a crack and do my best to try get selected. That’s my goal right now. Being a rugby player, you want to play at the pinnacle of the game. For me, that is international rugby. That’s the focus now.

“When you come over to a place, you get immersed in a nation, a culture and the way they do things. As a New Zealander – it may be a bit different from what Irish people think – you buy into the way of life, and the people, so it would be pretty cool to represent all of that.”

Nankivell grew up in Christchurch, the biggest city on New Zealand’s South Island. His father, Kim was a housemaster and the Nankivell family lived on campus, first at Christ College. Kim was there with his wife, Fiona, and their two boys, Alex and Hugo. Alex never got to meet his other brother. William Nankivell had neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, and passed away at only four years old in 1996. Years later, as he was striving to make a career from rugby, Alex got a tattoo of his older brother’s name on his wrist – a way of remembering, and paying tribute.

Kim was the guiding light for his boys as they made their way in rugby. “Dad was a massive influence,” says Nankivell.

“He played a bit, but had to retire due to injury a little earlier than he would have wanted. Growing up, he gave me and my brother every opportunity to get immersed in New Zealand rugby culture. Taking us to games and training. He coached my team all the way up to under-13s. So, my whole early journey in rugby, he was helping as my coach. I’ve got so many memories of us down at the field, doing evasion drills or speed drills. We spent a huge amount of time just kicking the ball down at Rugby Park, which is just next to where the Crusaders train. He gave us every opportunity to find the joy in rugby, first and foremost. Then, once he found we had that love for the game, every opportunity to succeed in the sport we love.

“I remember one time, he took me out to an Under-48kg game, which would be around U11 or U12s. It was a representative gave. We drove for about 45-50 minutes and got to the ground. I then realised I had forgotten my boots, so he drove all the way back to get my boots and bring them back. In the end, he probably spent two and a half hours in the car, all to get me my boots. I had left them out on the gutter outside our house and they were still there. Things like that. His love of the game rubbed off on us.”

Alex and Hugo had the run of the place at Christ College. They got to use the facilities, and peg it about the training pitches as youngsters. When their father got head-hunted to do some coaching at Christchurch Boys High School, a few kilometres down the road, the Nankivells were on the move. Dan Carter, Brodie Retallick and the Franks brothers, Owen and Ben, all went to the famous school. Alex’s early dreams revolved around following in their footsteps, but tragedy would put life into stark perspective.

It was a tragic event, but it was class to see how everyone got around each other and did what they could to make things happen.

In September 2010, then February 2011, the Canterbury region was plunged into chaos due to devastating earthquakes and resulting tremors that hindered early opportunities to make the best of a woeful situation.

“I remember the first one that hit,” Nankivell recalls. “I was meant to go and play a representative game for Canterbury U14s on the Saturday, but it was cancelled. All I was thinking about was that I couldn’t play the game.

“Then, what proceeded to follow was another earthquake and there was a large amount of damage. It was a pretty bizarre time. Christchurch was completely shut down. We ended up moving to Auckland for a while, stayed at my auntie’s place and went to school there for a while. We managed to get back to school at Christchurch Boys after a few months but it did put a hold on things.”

What stands out to Nankivell, who was 14 at the time, was how so many people came together to help out. “Even our neighbours who had kids that were my brother’s age, they may not have known how long we would be staying, but they welcomed us into their house. It definitely brought people together. It was a tragic event, but it was class to see how everyone got around each other and did what they could to make things happen, and see that life went on in a positive way.”

Nankivell made his initial breakthrough with Tasman Mako in 2015, and it did not take long before he broke into the Chiefs Super Rugby squad. Nankivell is of M?ori descent and would end up playing five times for the Maori All Blacks, including against an Ireland XV in 2022. He has post-game snaps with Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose, two centres he greatly admires. Nankivell, like former Chiefs star James Lowe before him, reached his mid-20s without getting the call for the New Zealand senior squad. When an opportunity to join Munster arose, he jumped at it.

Nankivell played 19 games in his first season as they were downed by eventual champions, Glasgow Warriors in the URC semi-finals. That summer, he found another reason to love his adopted home. “I went to America with a few of the lads. We went to Nashville, Tennessee. I met Ciara, my girlfriend, when I was over there. Coincidentally, she was from Bantry, in West Cork. She’s from Munster as well.

“What has stood out has been the Irish people, in general,” Nankivell adds. “Wherever you go, they’re so hospitable and welcoming. Not being biased or anything, it was easy moving to Ireland in those first few weeks and months, because it is pretty similar to New Zealand. Everyone has been so nice and are always interested in having conversations. They’ll hear the accent and think, ‘What’s the story with this fella?’ That’s always good, and I’ve met lots of great people that way – just because they’ll come up and strike up a conversation.”

Being almost 20,000 kilometres from home can still be tough, despite the new life Nankivell has forged for himself. “I went home last summer, and the travel was just savage,” he says. “The biggest thing is communication. You’ve probably got a three-hour window each day where you can talk to your family and friends. If I miss a message in the morning, I’m probably not going to reply until the afternoon, so they wake up to your message. The hardest thing is you can’t have these consistent conversations with who you want to.”

This season Nankivell has reunited with McMillan, his old Chiefs coach, and struck up a new centre partnership with Dan Kelly.

“You always develop good, strong relationships as centre partners as you work so much together on the field. Dan is only 24 but is already showing such good leadership qualities and is so confident in himself. He also brings this physical side of his game. I’ve got a massive appreciation of guys that can just throw themselves into collisions. I’ve been learning how do I get myself mentally to a place like him.”

Most of Nankivell’s core group of rugby friends are still going strong, playing Super Rugby, Japan’s Top League or have the honour of representing the All Blacks. Leicester Fainga?anuku, his old Tasman teammate, is over with Toulon. Nankivell says he is trying to tempt more this way “so I can go see them and we can have holidays together”.

 

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His idols growing up were Carter and Ma’a Nonu, although he often picked Munster on Rugby 08 on the PlayStation and knew all about Ronan O’Gara, David Wallace and Paul O’Connell. Back in January, he was gutted to narrowly lose against Toulon, but received a post-match boost.

“I got the opportunity to meet Ma’a after that game,” he says. “It was a pretty surreal experience. He knew who I was, and remembered playing against me back in 2018. Had a good chat with him about life, family and what he’s up to now. I got a photo with him, too. That was pretty cool. It just goes to show you the beauty of rugby, and the experiences it gives you on the journey.

“I would have watched Ma’a play on the wing, when he was with Wellington. When I moved to midfield and started to understand the game a wee bit better – other than just seeing all the cool tries on TV – I realised how impressive his development was. He went from being this physical, explosive athlete – and his point of difference being the carry and collision – to being this guy who could do everything. It made me appreciate you might not initially be unbelievable at everything but if you work hard enough, you can open up these different skills for yourself.”