New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern He has earned worldwide admiration for his management of both the pandemic and the terrorist attack on Christchurch last year, when a white racist killed 51 people by shooting in two mosques during prayer time, for the consideration and respect with which he addressed all the communities in the country, the same Anglo-Saxons as Maori as Muslims. If politicians could be transferred, his agent would put on his boots.
But as admirable as the Labor leader has been, her job is not the most responsible in New Zealand. That privilege or that slab falls on the captain of the All
Blacks, a rugby team that the entire country hopes will always win, and is terribly criticized when it doesn’t, as in the last Japan World Cup, when England crushed her in the semifinals. Defeats are not just defeats, they are humiliations, national tragedies. Even the Brazilians are already more psyched to lose in soccer than the kiwis when there is an oval ball in between.
As a child he got up at four in the morning to feed the animals before going to play
The weight now falls on the shoulders of Sam Cane, 28, who has played 68 times with the famous black shirt. It’s about a flanker or third line, number 7, defensive leader of the team and its team, the Chiefs de Hamilton, known for his brutal tackles and his game in the breakdown , when the ball is on the ground and he manages not to sink his knee, stay on his feet and have the possibility of snatching it from the rival and gaining possession for his own. His offensive contribution is not negligible either, as underlined by his thirteen trials with the almighty All Blacks.
A New Zealand captain can retire in glory and climb the pantheon of rugby gods, like Richie McCaw (149 times international), after winning two world championships. Or with a certain sadness as is the case of Kieran Read, his predecessor, relegated to 34 years of Japanese rugby (128 times international), also a born winner but who had the misfortune to wear the bracelet in the Japanese World Cup that ended conquering South Africa. For the All Blacks it was an end of time, and a relief was inevitable. The Crusaders’ Sam Whitelock, another veteran, was his main rival.
The new coach, Ian Foster, however, was inclined towards Cane given his firm but open-mindedness, his ability to listen to the opinions of others and recognize that he may be wrong, his ability to deal with veterans’ egos and also ambitions. Of the youngs. Both, captain and coach, have been trained in the Chiefs, one of the five greats of rugby kiwi along with the Highlanders, Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes.
Cane was born in the small rural community of Reporoa (in the Waikato region, North Island). His maternal grandfather emigrated from Holland along with four brothers escaping from World War II, and he prospered as a rancher. Their father decided to exchange the cattle for deer, and the new leader of the All Blacks grew up among them, caressing their backs, feeding them, sleeping in the stable when someone was sick and whispering their secrets and dreams into their ears. Saturday mornings are sacred in the country, when school rugby matches are played, and Sam had to get up at four in the morning. If he didn’t do all his chores on the farm before, he couldn’t go play (which would have left his teammates hanging, since his team had trouble finding fifteen kids willing to crawl in the mud). That sense of responsibility was very strong for him, and it has helped him to put on the bracelet.
That Cane started last year’s semi-final against England on the bench was a determining factor in the loss, and the decision that ended Steve Hansen’s journey as coach. The New Zealand defense was overwhelmed, and by the time the coach started making changes it was too late. The talent of number seven was evident from a young age, when he excelled in the Tauranga Boys. At 1.89m tall and weighing 103 kilos, there are those with a more imposing physical presence, but very few are capable of supporting him in the crash. It is like getting in front of a train.
Despite the applause that Jacinda Ardern has received for her tactic to combat the pandemic, Cane admires her transparency but is not sure that such strict confinement would have been necessary. From now on, the Prime Minister will be able to criticize her decisions as captain of the All Blacks. Because yours is going to be the best known face in the country.
