Maneesh

@SBakerMD Happy to have you over 🇳🇿 (Paediatrician)

likewise were skeptical, but I knew I’d never have this opportunity again and medical school could wait. I remember after a long flight getting off the plane in Auckland, where I was met by members of our medical school professor’s family picked me up and brought to the rugby club. I arrived just as they were about to start a scrimmage with another local team. They actually gave me a uniform and straight off the plane threw me into the match. I was put in as a lock, as that is the position they recruited me for. The intensity was orders of magnitude in this scrimmage, than anything I had been exposed to in the US. I was almost like an infant with regard to my knowledge of the game, compared to these guys that had been playing since they were 4 years of age. Fortunately I was a good athlete, very coachable and pretty durable. I went from playing rugby in parks and middle school fields in the US to playing in 20,000 seat stadiums in New Zealand where rugby is more or less a religion. In the US I often got “What is rugby?” In New Zealand I had grandmothers telling me what I did wrong during a particular sequence of play. The level in New Zealand Is among the highest in the world. I often would be on the pitch with members of the All Blacks, the New Zealand national team and among one of the winningist national teams in all of team sport in the world. I remember early on we had a pair Māori of twin brothers that played in the front row and were known for their vicious but effective play. One of them showed me how nicely the cleats on our shoes fit just about perfectly into the hole in one’s ear and during a ruck, basically a big moving pile of bodies during a tackle, a cleat to the ear could be an effective tool if opportunity presented itself. Rugby is fairly brutal, but at the same time can be elegant when executed at a high level of skill and that is something the Kiwis have in abundance. I saw a few pretty bad injuries on the field, one guy snapped his tibia in half. We had a helicopter land in the middle of the stadium to life flight a guy away who had presumably broken his neck. I was pretty fortunate in that all the years I ended up playing the only injuries I had were a broken nose and a dislocated finger. Overall my time in New Zealand was one of the funnest periods of my life and I don’t regret dropping out of medical school to do it. After my visa to be in New Zealand expired I came back to the US, joined the military so I could continue my rugby career, as at that time, early 1990s, the military was one of the better place to play at a high level. I ended up playing for both the Air Force and the All Armed Forces team. My last match took place in 1997, I was 30 years of age, was playing for a team called the Denver Barbarians and I was in Las Vegas playing a tournament against a team from Russia. I was having a very solid game having scored 3 tries and was stuck under the bottom of a pile of people and the Russian scrum half was kicking me in the head. I had blood pouring out of my ear and remembered thinking, ok I’m done. I walked off the pitch at the end of the match and hung up my boots forever. Later that year I got back into medical school, got the rugby bug out of my system and really enjoyed my training, graduating with honors and going into orthopedics. New Zealand was a gorgeous country, filled with wonderful people. I have not been back since that time but perhaps one day.

1991, I had just dropped out of medical school to go play semi-professional rugby in New Zealand. I was 22 years old, working out at a place called Sgt Rock’s gym in Galveston Texas, while going to medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The owner of the gym, a guy named Paul McCartney, not the Beatle, was a chiropractor who was the captain of the local rugby team, which was coincidentally affiliated with the medical school. Now at the time I was 6’5” about 240lbs, I could squat over 500 lbs and deadlift over 600, was lean, fast and could jump out of the gym. He somewhat jokingly, but was also being serious, told me that if I wanted to continue to train at his gym then I needed to come play rugby for his team. I thought about it for a few days and thought, what the heck, it could be fun. I went out to my first practice and learned about scrums, rucks, knock ons and how to tackle people. A few other medical school students were there as well as a mixture of a bunch of locals include the Lopez brothers, Steve, John and Chris “AKA Chowder Head”. I picked things up reasonably well and the first match they stuck me out on the wing. Usually, that position was for smaller fast guys and the guy playing opposite of me on the other team was like 90lbs lighter than me. The wing runs around a fair bit but doesn’t often get the ball very often. My first game was fairly uneventful as I recall. Eventually as I got a bit more familiar with the game I was moved into what known as “the pack”. Where I played what is called second row or lock and eventually some time at number 8, which honestly is one of the best positions in the game in my opinion. Anyway, I start my journey with the local club team and by the end of the season I get selected to be on the All Texas team, and shortly after that the all Western US team. I can remember becoming obsessed with rugby to the point that medical school became a thing I had to do between practice and matches. About halfway through my second year of medical school one of our professors, who happened to be from New Zealand starting talking to me about bringing me to New Zealand to play for one of their teams. The team was called Hautapu RFC and it was a team in the premiere division of a region known as the Waikato. They apparently every year recruited a foreigner to help fill out their side, often South Africans and sometimes Americans. They said they would fly me out, house me, feed me and pay me a small salary. Honestly the decision for me was pretty simple. Get payed to go play a sport that was a blast or toil away in medical school. Needless to say, I chose the more fun option and a few weeks later I was on my way to New Zealand. The medical professors thought I was nuts and asks me to reconsider, my parents

@ChalynRugby Doesn't April Fool's end midday? 🤡

BREAKING 🚨: Razor is back. Former All blacks Head Coach Scott Robertson has been appointed as the assistant coach of All blacks until 2027. He will work under Dave Rennie. Massive #Allblacks #Rugby

@scrumming_ten This tour has coincided with the most low+ unstable period of AB rugby....😬

Given how underwhelming the All Blacks coaching appointments are, perhaps the tour later this year should just be cancelled When the West Indies cricket team were declining, they arrived in South Africa for a test series in 1997/98 They got whitewashed 5-0

@Oom_Rugby 🕵️‍♂️ ? keep pacific players hungry for the AB jersey prior to RWC ......

question for our NZ friends.. appointment of Umaga as D coach is interesting I think? love the guy, but wonder about his ability as elite defensive architect . very mixed record with his teams . best period was at Blues under McDonald. as we have seen, trust and relationships count for a lot with Head coaches and their staff's. but I think a elite CV and proved ability, especialy with defence, is also important at Test level. unless I am missing something.

@ChalynRugby He's only got 15 months....perfection is not possible. I am glad he's at least signaling a way forward

Idk man, I’ve got a really bad feeling about this Tana Umaga assistant coach thing. Something just doesn’t sit right with me.

@bensmithrugby Yeh- Ashes test matches ended in 2- 3 days....if it happened in 🇮🇳 there would be infinite storylines about it....

India doctor their way to victory by producing a highway for their sloggers to tee off in the T20 final. No movement for the bowlers until India has the ball. One of the most impressive feats of rigging that the game of cricket has seen. All for an artificial World Cup title that pumps up India’s numbers when everyone knows T20 has nowhere near the prestige of an ODI WC or Test Championship. Well done India on being back-to-back champions of fast food cricket! 👏

@JamieWall2 Scott Barrett; "Fantastic Player, Current Captain" ⚰️

New All Black coach Dave Rennie on: -Ardie -The captaincy -Can the All Black win the next World Cup

@bensmithrugby #Echobox=1772497058" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/ru…

South Africans talk about New Zealand’s scrummaging as if the All Blacks didn’t fold the Boks pack like wet cardboard with Jordie Barrett playing flanker on the final play of the 2023 RWC final. And we all know why the call wasn’t made.

@martindevlinnz @AllBlacks Must by him. Specially since JJ decided to publicly criticize the NZRU...

Rennie. It’s him @allblacks That’s the feeling right? That’s also the goss ..

@ChalynRugby Ben Tune 2.0

Max Jorgensen, who are you mate ? Really ? #Wallabies #SuperRugbyPacific #WARvDRU #Rugby

@ChalynRugby JJ blabbing to the media about the NZRU makes this decision easy....

Under Dave Rennie, the Wallabies beat Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks in three of four Tests making him one of the very few coaches to consistently outsmart the mastermind himself. With rugby’s greatest rivalry heating up again, could that record against Rassie Erasmus be the edge that earns Dave Rennie the nod over Jamie Joseph ? 👀 #Springboks #Allblacks #Rugby

@ChalynRugby Contrarian take- he has all the skills at 10...kick, pass, defence....he's just too big for coaches to see it. We need to moneyball

JB 12 is back at Hurricanes #Allblacks #SuperRugbyPacific

@Brink_Thinker @ChalynRugby @bensmithrugby

Dude forfeited a gold medal to carry his exhausted brother to the finish line

@ChalynRugby They dont want him, surely they would have announced it by now if they did?

Jamie Joseph, one of the front runners to take over from Scott Robertson as All Blacks coach, is reportedly frustrated with the selection process. According to New Zealand Herald rugby writer Gregor Paul, Joseph is not impressed with how NZ Rugby is handling the appointment of a new head coach According to Paul, Joseph in particular is “miffed” that observers are now sitting in on his coaching sessions to take notes, despite his extensive track record in New Zealand rugby. WHAT A MESS !! #Allblacks #Rugby

@ChalynRugby Yes, the Blues have perfected the pathway of finding talent, then jump to another club to progress or stagnate at the Blues and head off shore..✈️

I said this 8 months ago btw 🔮 #Allblacks #Rugby

@ChalynRugby Psss....havent you heard? we are desperate 🤫

I haven’t read the article, but can we please stop with the Richie Mo’unga All Blacks return talk? He’s not Dan Carter. Not even close. He had the keys to two Rugby World Cups and we didn’t win either. He was at the centre of some of the most painful chapters in modern All Blacks history. He is indeed an average international player. That’s just facts. If he wants to come back, sweet. But nothing should be handed to him. He should be playing NPC. He should be earning it the hard way. That’s how it works. And let’s not disrespect the guys who stayed. The players who turned down life-changing overseas money to commit to New Zealand rugby and make our domestic competitions stronger. they deserves first crack. If three 10s light up Super Rugby this season and outperform everyone, Mo’unga should not be on that plane to South Africa. Simple as that. This goes to Beauden and Damien too. #Allblacks #Rugby #SuperRugbyPacific

@elonmusk For humans or 🦾?

For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars. It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster.

@AndyRoweOnline I am surprised he is not getting talked about more. He looks like an ABs coach. Tough, uncompromising and not worried if no one likes him

The All Blacks need Warren Gatland. He’s rebuilt teams, handled brutal scrutiny, and won at Test level.

@rugbyphilosophy He's the scape goat. NZ Herald leaked the Ardie story the day before to get the heat off them..

Robertson's sacking as the All Black's head coach wasn't Ardie Savea's fault/call/responsibility/decision.

@Rugby_Scoop My 2c- NZR leaked the Ardie story to take the heat off them the day before. Ardie gets the headlines, but Razor had probably lost the whole dressing room as no one has spoken out for Razor (unlike Foz..)

#RugbyScoop | 🚨 No Player Is Bigger Than the All Blacks: The Ardie Savea Debate and a System in Crisis This morning, rugby circles erupted following reports of growing unrest among senior All Blacks players. One of the names most prominently mentioned is Ardie Savea a world-class talent, a leader, and undeniably one of the best loose forwards of his generation. Reports suggest this dissatisfaction has been simmering since the All Blacks failed to complete a Grand Slam last year. While player frustration is understandable in high-performance environments, this situation raises a far bigger and more uncomfortable question: Who really holds the power in New Zealand rugby right now? Let’s be clear from the outset: no player is bigger than the All Blacks jersey. Not Ardie Savea. Not past legends. Not future greats. The black jersey has always stood for something greater than the individual wearing it humility, standards, and collective responsibility. If Ardie Savea genuinely wants to leave New Zealand rugby or has threatened to do so, then perhaps the hardest but fairest response is this: stay in Japan, and don’t come back. The All Blacks brand cannot afford to bend to individual leverage, no matter how elite the player. Once that door opens, the culture erodes and history shows that once lost, it is incredibly difficult to rebuild. A Coaching Structure Without Authority or Identity That said, placing the blame solely on players would be lazy analysis. The deeper issue lies within the coaching and leadership structure, which currently appears fragmented, inconsistent, and devoid of a clear rugby philosophy. There is no visible seniority, no unified direction, and no coherent system designed to extract peak performance from arguably the most talented player pool in world rugby. Since Ian Foster’s departure who, in fairness, also struggled to stamp authority and consistency the All Blacks environment has felt chaotic. Decision-making appears reactive rather than strategic, and players seem unsure of both their roles and the broader vision. At this point, incremental change is no longer enough. Either Scott “Razor” Robertson must be given full authority to lead with clarity and conviction, or New Zealand Rugby must consider a far more drastic reset one that includes moving on from all remnants of the old regime, including Steve Hansen’s ongoing influence. The current halfway house benefits no one. Also, Since 2019, there has been a glaring absence of one crucial element: pride in the All Blacks jersey. This is not new for anyone who’s followed this team. ABs 2025 review is done and dusted, it’s time for NZR step in and step up with solutions that HELP this group move forward & not backwards.