Bledisloe still gets Somerville's heart pounding

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The curtain on his test career may have dropped but Greg Somerville's heart will still be pounding like a jackhammer at Etihad Stadium tomorrow night.

Somerville will be watching from the stands as his countrymen launch their defence of the Bledisloe Cup and his old mate, Tony Woodcock, equals his record of 66 test caps as the most experienced prop in All Blacks history.

For Somerville, who arrived in Melbourne this week to help promote the new Rebels franchise which he will represent over the next two seasons, the emotions of watching the men in black still creates some turbulence deep inside.

"I don't think you ever lose it. It definitely still stirs something within you when you see the boys run out. It is still pretty tough to watch. There is still a part of me that would love to be an All Black."

Having left New Zealand in late 2008 to join English club Gloucester, Somerville has now returned Down Under and later this year will move to Australia to give his young family the chance to be closer to their grandparents.

The majority of his old All Blacks and Crusaders team-mates are still suiting up these days and he expressed plenty of satisfaction in seeing Woodcock continue to go about his business along with the Franks brothers, Ben and Owen, who he helped mentor while at the Crusaders.

One of the toughest decisions after leaving England was determining where he would play next and the 32-year-old admitted it was difficult to rebuff his old team-mate and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder.

"It was really heart-wrenching not to actually go back there. I really worried about ringing him and telling him that I couldn't make it."

A prolonged battle to get hold of Blackadder while he was in South Africa in May caused Somerville plenty of anguish.

"I had to leave a message in the end and I tried to ring Hammer [forwards coach Mark Hammett]. It was a nightmare but Toddy was really good about it and said `no worries'.

"He's just a decent bloke, isn't he?"

The carrot of returning to New Zealand to play in the world cup was another factor he had to weigh up.

"I did consider it a lot ... But I just thought to hinge everything on that and it not working out ... I have been through quite a few injuries in the past. Selection, form or injuries could have ended it all if I hung my hat on the whole thing."

- © Fairfax NZ News