Back in limelight Flavell ready to shine

TROY FLAVELL, New Zealand’s try-scoring hero last week, was nearly lost to All Black rugby when he went to play in Japan two years ago.

He had become accustomed to a place on the sidelines and felt there was no future for him in the national side. After 15 caps, the scorer of five tries for his country, Flavell packed his bags in the winter of 2004 and headed north.

Yet he now finds himself firmly back in the limelight, two years on, without any regrets.

He made his return to international rugby at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Saturday night, and it was a triumphant one.

When he dived in for New Zealand’s third try, his celebrations were that of a man thankful for a second chance. Once noted as ill-disciplined and abrasive, Flavell has moved on.

“I’m different now. I recognise that I made mistakes earlier in my career. The couple of years in Japan has given me the opportunity to reflect on what happened in my previous life.”

It also gave him the chance to realise that he could play second or back row.

“I got a fair degree of experience out there, and you do tend to pick up on certain aspects of the game by being able to mix it between different positions.”

Flavell has been named as partner to Chris Jack, but will be given licence to roam by coach Graham Henry.

“We are trying to play a certain game, and it gives an opportunity for guys to get around the paddock with the ball in hand. I’m lucky with my size; I’m big enough to play in the tight and quick enough to get around the field,” he said.

Yet, Flavell is still surprised by his return to New Zealand international status.

“My move to Japan was the right thing for me to do at the time, but I was thinking about returning to New Zealand. All I can say is that I was willing to come back and I was encouraged to do so, with no firm promises, by the people in charge of the team,” he added.

The environment, he stressed, is a lot more professional now than it was when he left for Japan. “We have people working on different aspects of our game, and one thing I noticed when I came back to New Zealand is we’re really pushed as players to express ourselves.

“The coaches have stood back and taken a wider look at things. They’ve looked at how certain players respond to pressure, at things that make them tick, and they’ve tried to bring other attributes to the players’ game,” he said.

In that respect, Flavell is still willing to learn, even at 28.

“I have gone through various stages of my development, I have learned lessons on how to behave myself on the pitch, on what’s acceptable and not acceptable. I have alternated between lock and the second row, but couldn’t care much once I can nail down a place in the New Zealand side.

“I’ve had my injury problems; my future in New Zealand rugby wasn’t looking that bright when I went to Japan, and I made a choice to suit myself and my family. It was good to get away at that particular time, because there are huge pressures in New Zealand rugby.

“That couple of years gave me an opportunity to reassess where I wanted to go, and the decision was to go back home and take up the challenge again.

“I came back with the stated ambition of getting back into top-class rugby, and right now I’m just happy that it worked out,” he said.

Scoring on Saturday made it sweeter.

“It was almost five years since I made my last appearance. I was named in the reserves, got on the pitch and managed to score a try within a short space of time. I suppose it came down to emotions, a release of frustration maybe, but yes, most of all it was probably a statement that I was back,” he said.

“It’s good to be home,” he said.