'I've given up on the All Blacks'

BY DAVID LONG

THAT'S it, end of the road, no more, 17 and out, never again.

Sione Lauaki, one of the most explosive and entertaining (yet polarising and frustrating) loose forwards New Zealand has produced in the last decade, has conceded that he'll never be picked for the All Blacks again.

The 28-year-old Lauaki is set to captain the Chiefs for the first three games of this Super 14 season while Mils Muliaina takes his sabbatical.

It could have been an opportunity to prove his critics wrong that he's not the lazy, unfit, boofhead who never lived up to his potential. But before the season has even begun he's admitted that whatever he does it won't get him back in the All Blacks.

During last year's Super 14, the dream of getting back in the black jersey and picking up his 18th cap was what was driving him.

But hope of that happening has now gone and what's keeping him in New Zealand are other factors.

"I've given up to be honest," shrugged Lauaki about the All Blacks when he spent time out to chat with Sunday News this week.

"One of the main reasons why I'm here is because of my family, to have another year here with my family and finish on a high with the Chiefs.

"Whatever next year brings so be it, but I'm not thinking anything further than this (Super 14) championship and I guess that will be my black jersey if we win it."

Chiefs coach Ian Foster has always been quick to defend Lauaki against the public perception of him and few know the No 8 better than him.

Last year it seemed as if he was on the radio every week to talk about Lauaki missing out on the ABs, but even he now concedes that the door has been slammed shut.

"I'm not sure he's got an opportunity to get back in the All Blacks really," Foster said.

"He's clearly going to have to change the All Blacks (selector's) minds if they are going to put him in there.

"I think they feel they've tried him and he hasn't succeeded, that's probably fair in some situations but he has been tried a lot in a `come in and do something for a little while' situations, he's had a lot of impact roles.

"He hasn't succeeded in that role, but maybe there is still a role for him in a starting position sometimes. That's up to them (the selectors), but clearly it's not an easy path for him to get back in.

"But in the meantime I know he's looking good, he's fit and he loves playing for this team."

Last winter it seemed almost impossible to imagine Lauaki playing in this year's Super 14.

Despite a good season for the Chiefs, he never got near making Graham Henry's squad and was put out to pasture in the Junior All Blacks.

At the time Lauaki told Sunday News that a move overseas could be imminent.

"Looking at it in the long run, you don't play rugby all your life and other things come into it," he said.

"I've got to choose wisely now because being in the black jersey was the highlight of my career.

"But to go out like this is hard to take. I've still got an Air New Zealand Cup to go and I'm looking forward to that," he said.

"If that's to be the last time I play in New Zealand, then I want to go out playing like I did [for the All Blacks] in 2005 when I first got into the team."

But he never got to have that big year, he picked up an ankle injury against Manawatu in round two which forced him out the remainder of the campaign.

It was that same desire to leave on a good note that also played a part in his decision to stay.

"Playing for Waikato was something I was looking forward to," he said. "But with the injuries it set me back and I really didn't want to go out like that, being injured then going overseas.

"For me, I want to have a big year this year and then got from there."

"I just wanted to have another season here with the Chiefs.

"I love the culture, the brotherhood that we have here and it's an awesome environment to be a part of.

"I wanted to have another crack with the Chiefs and hopefully win the championship."

Not surprisingly, Foster was keen for Lauaki not to go overseas, but remain an integral part of the squad that made it to the final last year.

"I certainly encouraged him (to stay), whether I played a big part or not I'm not sure," said Foster.

"I don't think he's finished here yet, he's got some work to do and he's certainly got some more business to do with us and I know that's what he's getting excited about, just the next six months.

An indicator at just how much Foster rates Lauaki's input into the team comes from his decision to make him the team's temporary captain.

It raised eyebrows in some quarters, but Foster says it was an obvious choice for him.

"When you're involved in a group you just see what's happening within it and see which players influence the other players," said Foster.

"Sione has been a big part of our leadership group for a while. I don't have to explain his impact for us on the park, but probably we need to educate the public about his impact off the park.

"They may still refer to a couple of things that may have happened in the past. He's clearly made a couple of mistakes but overall he's grown a lot as an individual and is very respected.

"He's a favourite down this way because people have studied him, watched him and know the influence he can have on a game."

Foster has heard all the anti-Lauaki comments going, that he disappears in games, doesn't get stuck in and has deficiencies with his defence, but Foster says while people are entitled to their opinions, he rejects those accusations.

"We know how he works in our system," he said.

"He's still got some work ons, he's had times where his workrate hasn't been enough, he hasn't been involved enough in the breakdown and he's stayed out of some of those areas.

"He's got a bit older, he's learnt about professional rugby and the disciplines of it and his fitness is at a point that he does get involved in those areas.

"But for every area that some people can find someone better than him at, he's still incredibly strong in the areas where we haven't got too much of in New Zealand, so it's a matter of balancing all of that."

In an interview for this month's New Zealand Rugby World magazine former All Black Jerry Collins says he believes players like himself and Lauaki are being pushed out of rugby as the emphasis on having a strong kicking game increases with coaches taking a cautious approach to running with the ball inside their own half for fear of a turnover at the breakdown.

"Coaches want loose forwards who are good in the lineout, can chase kick offs and grab high balls," Collins said.

"Nowadays players like me are getting filtered out of the game, because everyone's going for aerial guys, because everyone's going for midfield bombs.

"You see loose forwards now just chasing the ball and jumping up in the air."

Lauaki agrees with former All Blacks team mate and says he's concerned with where the games heading.

"Players like Jerry and I like to have the ball in our hands, dominating the opponent," he said.

"There are times when I do feel like that, when there's a lot of kicking and you just want to get the ball and run. But I guess you've got to play the game how you see it in the best interests of the team.

"But it does kind of get boring I guess."

However, Foster doesn't agree and says the Chiefs like to utilise Lauaki's talents.

"With the game we play we think Sione gets his hands on the ball a lot," Foster said.

"He's a big carrier for us and is very influential. One of our goals is still to try to get the ball in Sione's hands.

"You can design a game to meet different skill sets and Sione is reasonably unique, because he's got the power around the fringes and he's got that step and an offload, he's also got a brain that can see space like a back.

"He's got a pretty unique skill set, sometimes people get frustrated that he doesn't fit into the cliche of what a No 8 should be, but if you can balance his game with the guys around him you can get a good mix."

- © Fairfax NZ News