Flynn savours every moment of stunted career

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ENJOYING IT: All Blacks hooker Corey Flynn.

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When Corey Flynn played 13 minutes against Canada at the 2003 rugby World Cup as the reserve hooker he naively figured his time had come.

But it has taken a return to the scene of his All Blacks debut in Melbourne seven years later to finally reach 10 test caps.

To put Flynn's time-consuming quest into perspective the starting line-up that thrashed Canada 68-6 at what is now Etihad Stadium contained Mils Muliaina, Ma'a Nonu, Daniel Carter and Brad Thorn - a quartet whose international careers were also in their infancy.

That rout was the ninth cap of Muliaina's 85-test career, the third of Nonu's 48 and the fifth of Carter's 71.

Thorn has advanced his then seven-test career to 42, though he spent 2005-07 back in Queensland playing for the Brisbane Broncos.

Struck by injury or overlooked for most of those intervening years, Flynn has long realised every moment in the black jersey is to be cherished.

Other than starting and lasting the distance against Tonga in the All Blacks pool game at Brisbane in 2003 and Italy in Milan last year he has been limited to brief appearances - a total of 69 minutes in seven tests.

The final quarter against Scotland on the 2008 Grand Slam tour is his biggest allocation off the bench so far and typically he ended that tour with an arm in a cast after fracturing it in the midweek match against Munster.

By Flynn's count, he has had five broken arms, then there's the ankle sprains and ligament damage.

"I'm unlucky that when I have an injury it's quite major," he said ahead of tomorrow night's opening Bledisloe Cup test.

"I don't pull muscles, I break bones, which can be quite annoying."

Flynn can afford to be flippant when discussing a medical history that suggests a career change might be the best remedy.

"Those sorts of things come into your mind the first couple of times I broke my arm. By the time the fifth one happened I was pretty much an expert on dealing with it."

Of course injuries can also work is his favour.

Andrew Hore's high ankle sprain three minutes into the Hong Kong Bledisloe in 2008 saw him promoted to second choice behind Keven Mealamu for the end of year tour's UK and Ireland component.

Hore's shoulder injury in the last round of the Super 14 again allowed Flynn to again back up Mealamu, though only after the 29-year-old Southlander recovered from his latest ankle injury.

Hore will be reselected once his shoulder mends so Flynn will revert to the third choice option with Waikato rival Aled de Malmanche.

It is a role he is happy to fulfil.

"I suppose I'm at the part of my career now that I'm savouring every piece of it because it won't last forever.

"Back in '03 you sort of feel invincible and stuff like that and think you can go for ever but the longer you're in the game you realise that's not the truth."'

Flynn, who only made his first test appearance on home soil against South Africa on July 10, hopes to make an impact at some point on a Wallabies front row that has had its own injury issues.

Loosehead prop Benn Robinson and hooker Stephen Moore both made their comebacks against the Springboks last weekend and add much-needed experience to the Australian set piece.

"Those two will shore up that scrum quite nicely," said Flynn before predicting more collective pain for a Wallabies side that has lost seven straight against New Zealand.

"We're not going so bad ourselves. If we can get into them it'll put some demons in their heads," he said.

"If we get that right we know we've got a pretty good game plan to take these guys apart."

- NZPA