Jack keen to atone for World Cup 'nightmares'

STACY SQURES/The Press

SCAR TISSUE: Had Chris Jack not been bold enough to return home for a crack at his third World Cup, he reckoned he would have been "scarred for life".

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Had Chris Jack not been bold enough to return home for a crack at his third World Cup, he reckoned he would have been "scarred for life".

As his contract with Saracens, the London club he joined after the 2007 World Cup, neared its expiry date last year Jack pondered whether to take a gamble, and probably a pay cut, and return home to Christchurch in an attempt to win a place in the All Blacks' World Cup squad next year.

Although bringing his young family back to his hometown played a big role in his decision, Jack says the opportunity to play in the global tournament could not be ignored.

"We enjoyed every minute, we had a great lifestyle and saw some great things," he said in reference to his stint with Saracens, which was topped off with a short contract with Western Province in Cape Town.

"But ... my thoughts were that if I don't come back here and give myself a shot – even if I don't make it, you know, I would be so disappointed to see them [the All Blacks] play well and win it and know I didn't give myself a chance to be part of it.

"If I don't make it, I don't make it. But at least I have known I have given it a chance and [not doing so] would have been something that probably would have scarred me for my life."

Between 2001 and 2007 Jack won 67 test caps during an international career that appeared to have been extinguished following the All Blacks' ill-fated quarterfinal defeat to France in 2007.

Asked if the memory of that defeat drove him towards another shot of redemption, Jack, with a laugh, also referred to the 2003 semifinal defeat to the Wallabies: "I have got two nightmares already, mate."

Now he is set to play for the Crusaders for the first time since 2007, when they were beaten by the Bulls in Pretoria in the Super 14 semifinal, with coach Todd Blackadder tomorrow expected to list him on the reserves bench for Saturday night's match against the Lions at AMI Stadium.

With Brad Thorn nursing a sternum injury, Isaac Ross and Sam Whitelock are expected to start in the second row.

As he basked in the sunshine at the Crusaders training ground at Rugby Park yesterday, it is unlikely the 31-year-old would have held many regrets about turning down several northern hemisphere clubs – and their grim winters – to come back.

"There were French clubs that were very keen.

"It was nice to consider those but there comes a time when I thought I could still give it a go, so I thought 'why not'."

Having recovered from an off-season wrist surgery, Jack, who has made two appearances for the Crusaders Development Unit in recent weeks, is revelling in the different style of play here as a lock after mostly playing at blindside flanker for Saracens.

"I played No6 over there for a long time, which was something that was quite foreign to me and I struggled with."

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