Deaker 'still can't wait to get hold of the microphone'

Murray Deaker says he is not going anywhere until they sack him. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Murray Deaker tells Chris Rattue about his love of a job he has no intention of giving up anytime soon.

Murray Deaker has been the booming voice of sports radio for two decades and you can bet he will be in the thick of the World Cup action next year.

He was a groundbreaking influence over sport and its coverage through becoming the biggest sports media personality this country has seen.

Deaker has hit the retirement mark of 65, but with no intention of hitting the off button even though he has reduced his Newstalk ZB work to three days a week.

When the Weekend Herald caught up with the indefatigable "Deaks" at his home near Takapuna Beach, he was about to launch a Facebook page and nonchalantly dropped "Twitter" and "personal webpage" into the conversation as well.

Actually, Deaker's son John - his researcher and TV show producer - is in charge of this foray into social media, leaving the man himself to do what he does best, stirring the pot and the masses, plus luring sport's movers and shakers to the interview table.

Here, we turn the tables on Deaks.

Do you get nervous when the ratings are due?

I'm still rating well and more importantly enjoying it more than ever. I'm confident and enjoying people more than ever. I'm not so ambitious any more and do things that are a bit different. Bill Francis [Deaker's former boss and mentor] gave me the best advice - do a good job and the ratings will take care of themselves. The time to check them is when you are going to renegotiate.

Are you aware of your powerful influence in sport?

Only recently. Initially, I wanted a lot of influence but I'm not trying as hard now yet having more because I've been around so long. For a long time I worked too hard. But I loved it. I still can't wait to get hold of the microphone and get to work. I know how fortunate I am having done two other jobs, including teaching where you get no thanks. A lot of sports reporters and broadcasters have no idea how lucky they are because that's all they've done.

What do you like most about your job?

People. You see them come, go, rise, fall, come back again. You get great pleasure observing someone like Richie McCaw develop. After the World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff I wondered if he could ever be a great leader or even a good leader. But he is an outstanding leader of the All Blacks. I've also been really impressed by John Kirwan. Kirwan has helped men talk about depression, emotions, sensitivity ... most of all their feelings.And the least?Sniping by media against each other. I found the deliberate attempts to destroy Tony Veitch - as journalist and human being - abhorrent. What he did was inexcusable, but the attacks were prolonged and ridiculous and that situation was not an isolated incident.

Best interview?

Wayne Smith [then All Black coach], after he lost a Bledisloe Cup match in Australia. I asked him the question everyone wanted - are you the person best equipped to lead the All Blacks into the World Cup? There was silence and I put it to him again twice. He responded that he had self-doubts. Other people made the mistake of seeing this as weakness but I saw it as a strength. We all know he got dumped. There was an outrage over the interview. That one stands out.

Worst?

Some early ones when I talked too much. Good interviewers realise they have one mouth and two ears ...

There's a famous bust-up with Graham Henry, but you are back on speaking terms ...

We did one interview recently, but it was bland, like boxers in the early rounds positioning ourselves. It was important in light of the coming year that we started talking again. We had been friends although not as close as some people thought. We hadn't spoken since Cardiff 2007 when I said the All Blacks had lost their way, rotation was a disgrace, we'd picked the wrong team. I'd heard from mutual friends that he didn't want to be interviewed by me again. Fine - I didn't want to interview him. There were attempts to get me to back down and it was always going to be my role to make the contact. I stopped and thought 'this is ridiculous'. I rang him direct, just before the latest tour.

Is Henry on the right track now?

By 2007, he had lost the qualities which made him a great coach. He had always been cunning, manipulative, arrogant and a brilliant analyst, but instead he was trying to please everybody. He is a brilliant coach and I think he's returned to his best. I love it when people say he was obnoxious to someone ... they didn't call Fred Allen the 'Needle' because he was a softie. If I see Graham becoming smiley and pleasant and not coaching but managing I'll get worried. Graham has to win the World Cup to preserve his reputation though.

Bust ups - you've had a few ...Shall we list them?

John Mitchell (haven't spoken to him ever since), John Hart (a huge bust up - we're okay now, but not as close as we were), Jeff Wilson (haven't interviewed him since), Martin Crowe (because of a smart arse comment I passed ... we work in the same area now and he's someone whose opinions I value), Laurie Mains (a major bust-up), Chris Doig (as the cricket CEO he backed Chris Cairns and Adam Parore against the coach Glenn Turner. One night Doig rang me at home and said 'if we weren't such close mates would you be such a s***').

A few All Black coaches there ...

When Martin Snedden was appointed as the World Cup boss my wife Sharon asked me to do everything to avoid a bust up with him because I'd had one with every friend who had ever held a major position in rugby.

Auckland rugby?

A disaster - there are people who should be ashamed. Auckland was a powerhouse destroyed through bad management. The situation is recoverable if they get the right people back in the key jobs.

Cricket is dear to your heart. The game is at the crossroads - what does the future hold?

It will become more of the hit and miss - Twenty20. Razzmatazz suits modern society. Outside England and Australia there isn't much future for test cricket. If you don't get big crowds you can't play. We're good at softball and very athletic. Cricket's biggest problem is not embracing the people who play sport well in this country - Polynesians and Maori. This may change. I don't see test cricket surviving in NZ. That's life. Move on.

Money, money, money ... do you fear the corporate takeover of sport and its influence over the media?

This is the biggest challenge sport is facing. So far, the national sporting bodies rather than corporations have tried to exert that influence because they fear losing sponsorships through a bad image. The big example is rugby union which made it so difficult to interview players and coaches - you had to go through media liaison people who seemed more like media obstruction people. We're not quite at the stage where corporations call the shots, but when we do we'll need good people in key media positions to stand up to it.

So is rugby the winner again?

The big improver in media liaison has been rugby. After a dreadful 2009, the NZRU needed to realise they could lose their privileged position if they continued to treat fans and media in such a despicable way. There has been a turnaround this year and Steve Tew has had the biggest transformation I've ever seen in a CEO. He's become reasonable, he listens - he was always available, but there wasn't much point when he was so arrogant and obnoxious that he damaged the game.

What's your take on social media?

You have to embrace it or get left behind.

Graham Henry, Facebook, Steve Tew - you play the hard man, but pragmatism, reinvention, and revision are strong themes ...

I am entrenched on many things, but I will change. I might have held on to the Henry thing too long. I'd like to think I give people a second or third chance because so many people did that for me in my battle with booze when I was an outcast from the society I wanted to be part of because I was an embarrassment.

You have been sober a long time - what suggestion would you make to anyone who feels they may have a problem with the drink?

Find the fellowship that is more successful in getting people sober and keeping them sober than any other organisation. It's a 12-step programme and it's free.

As a longtime interviewer, what is the question you would ask yourself?

What would have happened to you if you hadn't stumbled into radio? The answer is 'I would hate to think'.

And when will you stumble out?

I'm not going anywhere until they sack me ... and I will not go willingly. As I heard someone at the station say, 'they'll have to drag that old man out of here kicking and screaming'.