The Leicester Fainga’anuku experiment appears set to continue for the Crusaders, and there's discussion about what it could mean for rugby going forward.
Fainga’anuku has confirmed he's open to taking on new roles within the team.
Former All Black Eric Rush joined Piney to discuss further.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from News Talk zedb Awen Rugby.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
The buzzword is hybrid with Leicester fainger Nuku blurring the
lines between playing in the midfield and playing as a
loose forward.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Over the polers.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you took a care call, of course, it stores
the midfielder cup, wigger cup open side. Flaker steps his
back on this contest here, But long before he made
it fashionable, one man was already doing it.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
His Rush.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
This is Ruby, slippery's beat. Four tackles like him in front.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
What a try, Eric.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Rush, Well, he is just greet on the field in
the first place, but that is a brilliant individual effort.
Eric Rush built a career switching between loose forward and wing,
starring for the All Blacks and becoming a global icon
in sevens as well. Eric Rush is with us, Eric,
thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Mate.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
When you want someone like Lester fighting and lun what
he is doing, do you do you feel like you're
seeing a bit of a modern version of what you
were doing thirty years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I never played super rugby in both positions. I played
the NPC Maori or Blacks, and when I was in
the All Blacks. I had to learn all the line
of cools just in case. But I never got to
play for the All Blacks as a number seven, but
that would have been great. But I played flanker as
a kid, but played about one hundred games first cast
(01:38):
games at planker and then Laury names that Peter Forgard
told me it was too small to be a seven,
but they'd give me a crack on the wing. So
I'm sure that's what Will Penny's done with Lester, and
he's taken up the challenges. He's doing pretty well, to
be honest.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
See he's doing very well. I mean it feels like
a big adjustment though, Rushia, you know, I mean Louise
Ford and the wing, I mean loose Ford and midfielder.
So lightly you are from second five to center flanker two,
a position in the back line. How big an adjustment
was it?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? I was. I think going out was harder than
coming back in because you're on an island out there
in defense and the Fords if you missed the tackle,
there's there's plenty of guys around you that to make
up for you. You know, when you're out on the
wingers just you mate rule, buy your loans. And so
there was the part right found the hardest. You know,
(02:33):
cacking was cacking as attacking man, get the ball and run,
you know, but the defense was the hardest part. But yeah,
I think positionally is harder going out wider, but physically
much tougher for Leicester coming into the Fords. But he's
handling it with e.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
What about set peace because you know, coming from out
and where you've got to learn, you know, line out calls,
scrums that sort of stuff be effective at set Peace.
Would that have been a big adjustment for him to make.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I guess that the number seven is not knowledge involved
in the in the lineout stuff is is you know
the other seven Fords. You know, you're sort of tagged
on the end. It's probably a little bit different now
today because there you know, there's a lot more variation
in the alludiance. But I would say that would be
the easiest part of scrummaging and in lineouts it's it's
(03:25):
getting his lines right. The increased workload because there's the
flankers work all of a lot harder than than the wingers,
especially in my day.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, well I was going to say that too, because
and you mentioned the physical demands of it. I don't know.
I reckon a lot of players would prefer to be
out on the wing where there's not so many big
bodies to be hit and uh and and be hit by.
So would he have to change his body shape. He's
already quite a big bloke, though, isn't he.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, yeah, no, I think he's fine. But I think
he's fine. You're probably he a properly job with few cases,
and he's doing a lot more running. But I got
bored out of them. I mean I used to get in
all the rucks, and John Hart said to me, well,
if you if you haven't got the ball, you better
get out of there. If you if you've got the ball,
you can stay in there, you know. So I sort
(04:16):
of I just did my own thing, really and and
Laurie and them were really uh, really good about let
me do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Did you say that that you still were I had
to get across the line out calls and things like that,
just in case they had to bring you in. You know,
it wasn't a play necessarily, but but just in case
of emergency or of the.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Situation, just in case of em got started. I started
on the wind, but they said, hey, you two loose wards,
go down Europe because there's only six subs in. But
but there wasn't the rotation of players. But when I
was at the Maori All Blacks, I played both positions
during the same game, and that was that was a
(04:57):
bit tough gas usually in the Islands where where guys
got hurt a lot lot higher frequency. So I ended
up in the scrubb a couple of times af starting
on the wing.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
What did you enjoy more? If you look back to
your fifteenth career, which position did you enjoy playing more?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I probably enjoyed flanker ball, to be honest. Yeah, you're
in the game. You know, you get to knockheads and
mix it up with the big fellas. But you get
a chance to get out in the open and run
with the ball too, So yeah, it was a mixture
of both. Where they're out on the wing, you know
you had a job and when you got an opportunity,
you had to finish it. I was man. I was
(05:35):
super fast for a flanker, but I was very average
speed for a winger.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
In size as well. I mean I don't remember you
being small and especially in those days Russia. I mean,
it wasn't like, it wasn't like flankers, you know, one
hundred and thirty kegs, you know, Like, did you think
you were you weren't too small to be a flanker.
What did you say when they.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Said that I was ninety two kges? It's you know,
that's not even a midfield back nowadays. True. True, But
then again there was no subs either, so you had
to run the whole lady, and the scrums were a
tenth about tenth of the time that takes to put
the scrum down now, so the game sort of went
a whole lot more. But they're bigger and faster athletes,
(06:16):
bigger and strong athletes nowadays, so you have to have
the size. Yeah, I don't know if I could move
into the forwards nowadays, but I guess it's amazing what
you can train your body to do. You know.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, Lester's obviously worked it out, you know, because he's
playing from what it's only it's a small sample size.
I know a couple of games he's playing a right,
isn't he in that seven Jes?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Getting turnovers, making his tackles, scoring tries. He's doing really well.
I'm really impressed with him.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Do you think it'll be the catalyst for more more guys,
especially as they're coming through, as as they're developing his players,
because I guess you choose a position as you as
you get into your teenage years. Do you think guys
will actually say, no, I want to be a hybrid
player who can play a couple of different roles.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I guess that'd be like me, mate'll they'll do whatever
they're told. You know, if if you get a sniff
in a different position, you're never going to say no.
You know, Ali met us as another example today, he's
going to have to decide where he wants to play,
because you know, he plays pretty well at wing and
blanker for Wycott in the NPC. So he's probably the
only other example of it today. Of course was me
(07:20):
and Jonah back in the day. But Jonah Jada Jonah
was a different ken of fish too, you know, so.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
He played number right, didn't I remember. I've seen some
footage he must have been. He must have been a
frightening those forward Yonah.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
And because he was the first time I met him,
he was still at school, and you know, he was
just as big as when he was playing in the
All Backs, you know, against school kids, but he was
trimmed then, and you know, one hundred and twenty two
cages six foot four five and fastest in the All
Backs overtweenty meters. It's scary coming off the back of
(07:55):
a scrub. The All Backs put him in a couple
of scrubs for a while there. They just let him
pick it up off the back and have a crack.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I think he scored a try off d too, And
from a coke point of view, I presume it'll be
quite a nice thing to have for to have in
your in your twenty three, certainly when you were playing
when they weren't as many subs or any to have
guys who can play more than one. I mean, for
Rob Penny, he probably quite likes the idea of having
a player who he can use in a couple of
different ways, does he.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, that's right, yeah, yeah. And he plays both positions
quite well, so whether he's on the bench, you didn't
have to do the South African bomb squad with him,
or you could do it with one lease player because
he can cover both of these. And the South Africans
have quaga what's.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
His name, Quagor Smith?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, fugus. Yeah. See he's the sevens boy and he
has always been a quick, quick player, so he can
do both.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So when we get to the All Blacks, you know,
Lester's probably going to be in the All Blacks. Do
you reckon Dave Rennie will use him in that hybrid
role or will he say, look, Leicester in my team
you're a midfield or an outside back or what do
you think Rens will do?
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I think at the All Black level you've got the
pick of the pick of the crop, you know, so
he's going to have to be an outstanding blanket to
beat Jacobson and and you know all these boys that
are getting inside of the Parker and then he's got
a few way to go to get in front of
Carriffe as the open side. But you know, he's already
(09:26):
been an All back in the midfield. But I guess
if he's if he's on the bench or playing as
a midfielder, there's always insurance. Hey man, if we if
we if we get a couple of bad knocks, we
can always chuck them into the Fords to help you know.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, it makes him a pretty compelling proposition on a
reserves bench, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, Yeah, that's a it's a real feather in his cap.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Excellent. How's everything else going. He's got an involvement in rugby, Rushy.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah, I'm coaching a club team up in finally the
Mid Northern club where the Going brothers and David Holwell
and all those guys played, So I coach. Look, we're
doing it the last six years.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
So brilliant, brilliant. Well it's been great. Get your insight.
Like I say, when we were talking hybrid players today
at work, the first name that came up was yours.
So I'm glad you could join us, mate and give
us your insight.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Oh someone still remember me?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Good on your I seat. We'll see you again soon. No,
thank you, mate. That is Eric Rush, the one and
only one of the prepspot in fact, probably the first
genuine player who went from the forwards to the back,
who was equally adept at both all of those games.
As Eric pointed out, there in the loose forwards and
(10:36):
then out to the wing. He went most of us
all Blacks games. In fact, I think almost all of
them would have been in the backs, but he played
a lot of a lot of rugby and the loose
forwards at provincial level, not super level, but certainly at
a good level.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
For more from sports Talk, listen live to News Talk
Said Be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from News Talk zedb Awen Rugby.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
The buzzword is hybrid with Leicester fainger Nuku blurring the
lines between playing in the midfield and playing as a
loose forward.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Over the polers.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you took a care call, of course, it stores
the midfielder cup, wigger cup open side. Flaker steps his
back on this contest here, But long before he made
it fashionable, one man was already doing it.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
His Rush.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
This is Ruby, slippery's beat. Four tackles like him in front.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
What a try, Eric.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Rush, Well, he is just greet on the field in
the first place, but that is a brilliant individual effort.
Eric Rush built a career switching between loose forward and wing,
starring for the All Blacks and becoming a global icon
in sevens as well. Eric Rush is with us, Eric,
thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Mate.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
When you want someone like Lester fighting and lun what
he is doing, do you do you feel like you're
seeing a bit of a modern version of what you
were doing thirty years ago.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I never played super rugby in both positions. I played
the NPC Maori or Blacks, and when I was in
the All Blacks. I had to learn all the line
of cools just in case. But I never got to
play for the All Blacks as a number seven, but
that would have been great. But I played flanker as
a kid, but played about one hundred games first cast
(01:38):
games at planker and then Laury names that Peter Forgard
told me it was too small to be a seven,
but they'd give me a crack on the wing. So
I'm sure that's what Will Penny's done with Lester, and
he's taken up the challenges. He's doing pretty well, to
be honest.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
See he's doing very well. I mean it feels like
a big adjustment though, Rushia, you know, I mean Louise
Ford and the wing, I mean loose Ford and midfielder.
So lightly you are from second five to center flanker two,
a position in the back line. How big an adjustment
was it?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? I was. I think going out was harder than
coming back in because you're on an island out there
in defense and the Fords if you missed the tackle,
there's there's plenty of guys around you that to make
up for you. You know, when you're out on the
wingers just you mate rule, buy your loans. And so
there was the part right found the hardest. You know,
(02:33):
cacking was cacking as attacking man, get the ball and run,
you know, but the defense was the hardest part. But yeah,
I think positionally is harder going out wider, but physically
much tougher for Leicester coming into the Fords. But he's
handling it with e.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
What about set peace because you know, coming from out
and where you've got to learn, you know, line out calls,
scrums that sort of stuff be effective at set Peace.
Would that have been a big adjustment for him to make.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I guess that the number seven is not knowledge involved
in the in the lineout stuff is is you know
the other seven Fords. You know, you're sort of tagged
on the end. It's probably a little bit different now
today because there you know, there's a lot more variation
in the alludiance. But I would say that would be
the easiest part of scrummaging and in lineouts it's it's
(03:25):
getting his lines right. The increased workload because there's the
flankers work all of a lot harder than than the wingers,
especially in my day.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, well I was going to say that too, because
and you mentioned the physical demands of it. I don't know.
I reckon a lot of players would prefer to be
out on the wing where there's not so many big
bodies to be hit and uh and and be hit by.
So would he have to change his body shape. He's
already quite a big bloke, though, isn't he.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, yeah, no, I think he's fine. But I think
he's fine. You're probably he a properly job with few cases,
and he's doing a lot more running. But I got
bored out of them. I mean I used to get in
all the rucks, and John Hart said to me, well,
if you if you haven't got the ball, you better
get out of there. If you if you've got the ball,
you can stay in there, you know. So I sort
(04:16):
of I just did my own thing, really and and
Laurie and them were really uh, really good about let
me do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Did you say that that you still were I had
to get across the line out calls and things like that,
just in case they had to bring you in. You know,
it wasn't a play necessarily, but but just in case
of emergency or of the.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Situation, just in case of em got started. I started
on the wind, but they said, hey, you two loose wards,
go down Europe because there's only six subs in. But
but there wasn't the rotation of players. But when I
was at the Maori All Blacks, I played both positions
during the same game, and that was that was a
(04:57):
bit tough gas usually in the Islands where where guys
got hurt a lot lot higher frequency. So I ended
up in the scrubb a couple of times af starting
on the wing.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
What did you enjoy more? If you look back to
your fifteenth career, which position did you enjoy playing more?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I probably enjoyed flanker ball, to be honest. Yeah, you're
in the game. You know, you get to knockheads and
mix it up with the big fellas. But you get
a chance to get out in the open and run
with the ball too, So yeah, it was a mixture
of both. Where they're out on the wing, you know
you had a job and when you got an opportunity,
you had to finish it. I was man. I was
(05:35):
super fast for a flanker, but I was very average
speed for a winger.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
In size as well. I mean I don't remember you
being small and especially in those days Russia. I mean,
it wasn't like, it wasn't like flankers, you know, one
hundred and thirty kegs, you know, Like, did you think
you were you weren't too small to be a flanker.
What did you say when they.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Said that I was ninety two kges? It's you know,
that's not even a midfield back nowadays. True. True, But
then again there was no subs either, so you had
to run the whole lady, and the scrums were a
tenth about tenth of the time that takes to put
the scrum down now, so the game sort of went
a whole lot more. But they're bigger and faster athletes,
(06:16):
bigger and strong athletes nowadays, so you have to have
the size. Yeah, I don't know if I could move
into the forwards nowadays, but I guess it's amazing what
you can train your body to do. You know.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Well, Lester's obviously worked it out, you know, because he's
playing from what it's only it's a small sample size.
I know a couple of games he's playing a right,
isn't he in that seven Jes?
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Getting turnovers, making his tackles, scoring tries. He's doing really well.
I'm really impressed with him.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Do you think it'll be the catalyst for more more guys,
especially as they're coming through, as as they're developing his players,
because I guess you choose a position as you as
you get into your teenage years. Do you think guys
will actually say, no, I want to be a hybrid
player who can play a couple of different roles.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I guess that'd be like me, mate'll they'll do whatever
they're told. You know, if if you get a sniff
in a different position, you're never going to say no.
You know, Ali met us as another example today, he's
going to have to decide where he wants to play,
because you know, he plays pretty well at wing and
blanker for Wycott in the NPC. So he's probably the
only other example of it today. Of course was me
(07:20):
and Jonah back in the day. But Jonah Jada Jonah
was a different ken of fish too, you know, so.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
He played number right, didn't I remember. I've seen some
footage he must have been. He must have been a
frightening those forward Yonah.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
And because he was the first time I met him,
he was still at school, and you know, he was
just as big as when he was playing in the
All Backs, you know, against school kids, but he was
trimmed then, and you know, one hundred and twenty two
cages six foot four five and fastest in the All
Backs overtweenty meters. It's scary coming off the back of
(07:55):
a scrub. The All Backs put him in a couple
of scrubs for a while there. They just let him
pick it up off the back and have a crack.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I think he scored a try off d too, And
from a coke point of view, I presume it'll be
quite a nice thing to have for to have in
your in your twenty three, certainly when you were playing
when they weren't as many subs or any to have
guys who can play more than one. I mean, for
Rob Penny, he probably quite likes the idea of having
a player who he can use in a couple of
different ways, does he.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, that's right, yeah, yeah. And he plays both positions
quite well, so whether he's on the bench, you didn't
have to do the South African bomb squad with him,
or you could do it with one lease player because
he can cover both of these. And the South Africans
have quaga what's.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
His name, Quagor Smith?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, fugus. Yeah. See he's the sevens boy and he
has always been a quick, quick player, so he can
do both.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So when we get to the All Blacks, you know,
Lester's probably going to be in the All Blacks. Do
you reckon Dave Rennie will use him in that hybrid
role or will he say, look, Leicester in my team
you're a midfield or an outside back or what do
you think Rens will do?
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I think at the All Black level you've got the
pick of the pick of the crop, you know, so
he's going to have to be an outstanding blanket to
beat Jacobson and and you know all these boys that
are getting inside of the Parker and then he's got
a few way to go to get in front of
Carriffe as the open side. But you know, he's already
(09:26):
been an All back in the midfield. But I guess
if he's if he's on the bench or playing as
a midfielder, there's always insurance. Hey man, if we if
we if we get a couple of bad knocks, we
can always chuck them into the Fords to help you know.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, it makes him a pretty compelling proposition on a
reserves bench, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, Yeah, that's a it's a real feather in his cap.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Excellent. How's everything else going. He's got an involvement in rugby, Rushy.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah, I'm coaching a club team up in finally the
Mid Northern club where the Going brothers and David Holwell
and all those guys played, So I coach. Look, we're
doing it the last six years.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
So brilliant, brilliant. Well it's been great. Get your insight.
Like I say, when we were talking hybrid players today
at work, the first name that came up was yours.
So I'm glad you could join us, mate and give
us your insight.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Oh someone still remember me?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Good on your I seat. We'll see you again soon. No,
thank you, mate. That is Eric Rush, the one and
only one of the prepspot in fact, probably the first
genuine player who went from the forwards to the back,
who was equally adept at both all of those games.
As Eric pointed out, there in the loose forwards and
(10:36):
then out to the wing. He went most of us
all Blacks games. In fact, I think almost all of
them would have been in the backs, but he played
a lot of a lot of rugby and the loose
forwards at provincial level, not super level, but certainly at
a good level.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
For more from sports Talk, listen live to News Talk
Said Be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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