Cleaver forced to be patient

PATIENCE: Shane Cleaver at Taranaki Rugby Practice at Yarrows Stadium in New Plymouth.

Related Links

Schwalger keeping up the pace Hoeata signs for Highlanders Schwalger keeping up the pace

Relevant offers

The build-up to this year's national provincial championship could not have been any more frustrating for young Taranaki prop Shane Cleaver.

Sidelined with a shoulder injury he suffered against Canterbury last September, Cleaver had to play the waiting game.

"They made quite a mess of the top rib near my right shoulder," he said. "I also popped the SC joint where the sternum and collar bone join in."

The injury, which could not be operated on, left Cleaver unable to do any impact work for months. Instead, his summer was taken up with trips to the gym, while he was often spotted pounding the pavements of New Plymouth, his i-Pod strapped around his bicep.

The 23-year-old is quick to heap praise on the Taranaki medical staff who nursed him through some dark days when he was forced to contemplate 2010 on the sidelines.

"The injury ruined a lot of the bio-mechanics of the shoulder, so there was a lot of focus on getting that right," he said. "I trained really hard and took the whole summer off work.

"I couldn't work because the physical work on the farm was upsetting the injury, so I did a lot of gym work, put on 10kg and just did whatever training I could. I was training every day, trying to focus on getting back for the season. That's what kept me going and how I got through it."

He finally returned to his club side Southern in the second round of the premier competition, although his match fitness was well short of where he hoped it would be.

His lungs soon adjusted to weekly rugby and he was in good shape by the time the Tenderlink Taranaki squad assembled for their ITM Cup preparation.

Two months on and Cleaver said there was a great team culture developing, aided by the enthusiasm of the coaching and support staff, while the four straight wins Taranaki have strung together has the players on a high, something not experienced since 2004.

The former Francis Douglas Memorial College student has been joined in the front row in the past year by fellow Southern prop Michael Bent. Ironically, the pair grew up with their family farms across the road from each other in Tokaora, just out of Hawera.

"I went to the local primary and Benty went into town, so we didn't actually know each other that well when we were young," he said. "Since we've been at Southern we've become really good mates though."

The pair have also switched sides of the scrum, with Cleaver now at loosehead and Bent anchoring the set piece from the tighthead.

While first to admit he still has a lot to learn in the game, there has been a noticeable lift in Cleaver's form this season, the most obvious being his improved ball retention.

"I've done a lot of work on my skills, my handling, my passing and that in the off-season, and I think that's paying off now."

Just how far he, along with his fellow forwards, have come will be put to the test on Sunday when Taranaki face a big Auckland pack at Eden Park.

- © Fairfax NZ News