Gallagher Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane hopes to be back on the field playing the sport he loves "fairly shortly". Photo / Getty Images
Gallagher Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane hopes to be back on the field playing the sport he loves "fairly shortly". Photo / Getty Images
We all know Sam Cane the All Black and Chief. But could you name which movie scene the 27-year-old can reference without hesitation?
Guess what the Gallagher Chiefs co-captain would be doing if he wasn't playing rugby? Or identify which on-field moment, more than 10 years ago, he ismost embarrassed about.
As part of a new feature called Behind the Name, we get to know the Bay of Plenty's talented athletes representing New Zealand internationally. We take readers beyond an athlete's impressive career highlights and today, we launch with Sam Cane - the rugby star, the man, the son and the fiance.
What is your first memory of rugby and how has that impacted your life? My first memory is my dad taking me down to the Reporoa Rugby Club after school. If he hadn't have taken me down who knows if I would have got into rugby. He was a pretty strong rugby influence for me growing up, he was my coach from the age of 5 until about 14.
Why do you love rugby? I love the camaraderie, the team aspect of being with your mates. I love what comes from going out on the field and working really hard together to try and achieve something, and the feeling of having to rely on your mates and them having to rely on you.
What is your sporting highlight to date and why? My All Blacks debut was a dream come true and also bringing up 100 games for the Chiefs. Right from as early as I can remember I looked up to the All Blacks. I'd get up with dad and watch them early in the morning when they were overseas. They were like my heroes growing up and then as I got a little bit older and started training harder for rugby and realising that that's what I wanted to try and do and achieve, and then the moment comes that you get the opportunity to play for the All Blacks for the first time, it's sort of like all that hard work and all those moments of, I suppose that vision of achieving your dream becomes a reality in that one moment when you run out there.
What has been your most serious injury suffered on the field? Fractured neck (suffered last October while playing for the All Blacks in a test match against South Africa). Recovery is going really good, on track and hopefully back playing fairly shortly.
What is the best advice you have been given when it comes to playing rugby? I don't know if I really have one line, or one thing that I can remember being given but I suppose what I've worked out is that you have to work hard and make sacrifices, you have to be very coachable, so the ability to take advice on board and implement changes.
What has been your most embarrassing on-field moment at any level? I once thought I scored a try on the five metre line off the back of a driving ball. So you've got your head down and you see the white line, I dived and we were five metres short. I would've been about 15, 16 years old I think.
If you weren't playing rugby what would you be doing? I think I'd either be building, a builder or working on a farm. I grew up on a farm and I've always, I suppose, liked doing jobs where you can see your outcome or see what you've produced and building fits that so I think if I wasn't doing rugby I would've done a building apprenticeship out of school.
When you're not playing or training, what are you doing? I'm either playing golf or riding my Harley, or just catching up with friends, family and spending time with my fiancee, wedding planning at the moment.
Who is your favourite athlete in any code and level? Probably Roger Federer. Obviously how he's been able to perform at such a high level for so long, like so consistent, but also the way he's very much a professional and a nice guy by all accounts, not that I've met him but he comes across that way.
What was your very first job? Me and two mates at school (Carl Axtens and Josh Thomas), we had a job with a local farmer where we would pick up all his hay, so it wasn't a fulltime job, it was on demand but it was for about three years while we were at school. That was my first sort of source of income. I loved it eh, it was tough work, I really enjoyed it actually. Carl actually went on to play a bit of rugby for Bay of Plenty as well, for the Steamers.
Reporoa's Carl Axtens and Sam Cane in 2010 when they were selected for the NZ Schools Rugby Team. Photo / File
What did your parents want you to be when you were younger? I have no idea to be honest. They never put pressure on me to do anything. They didn't even pressure me to train for rugby. I did grow up having a fair bit of responsibility on the farm, like helping out and doing jobs.
Do you think that helped your own drive? Probably what helped me the most would have just been seeing how hard my parents did work to get to where they are and their work ethic has without a doubt rubbed off on me.
What has been your biggest personal achievement? Getting engaged (to long time partner Harriet Allen).
Where is your favourite place in the Bay of Plenty and why? Mount Maunganui without a doubt. I spent a lot of time there growing up, both my grandparents lived there. I just love it, the beaches, the same reason everyone else loves the Mount.
Tell us three things people may not know about you: I grew up on a deer farm, I know the whole Any Given Sunday Al Pacino speech off by heart and I have a dog named Willow. I memorised the speech once for a function and I've retained it for some reason.
