Rugby league: The Blair captain project

Adam Blair will never forget his first car. It was a beaten up, old, Toyota Hilux. The driver's door was missing, and the bonnet had to be tied down with wire. That might sound like the story of many other Kiwi boys with their first set of wheels - but for some vital differences. The car's purchase 'price' was two pigs and a pony.

And Blair was just 10 years old.

To understand Blair, you need to appreciate his background. Blair, who will lead the Kiwis tonight in their first Rugby League World Cup game against Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium, had the kind of upbringing most of us couldn't begin to comprehend. But once you do, it's easier to understand how Blair has become one of the most acclaimed players in the game and a true leader of men.

Adam Ngawati Blair was born in Whangarei, but at the age of five his parents took the whanau to live in Panguru. It's a tiny community on the northern Hokianga Harbour, perhaps most notable as the place where Dame Whina Cooper spent the last decade of her life. The Blair family lived on a small farm ("about 20 paddocks"), and life was simple.

"There was one shop, one petrol station, one tavern and a school," says Blair. "And no police. If you got into trouble you were sent out into the paddock to clean up the weeds."

The Blair farm had dairy and beef cattle, and a small herd of sheep and pigs. It provided for the family, as well as the local community.

"It was tough growing up ... it wasn't easy," says Blair. "We lived off the farm. The 'big smoke' - which was Kaitaia - was an hour away. Everything we made, everything we had, was from the land."

For Blair, the eldest of eight siblings, life revolved around sport at school, and helping his father Cliff on the farm.

"We were providers for our town," says Blair. "There were pigs there for someone, a funeral or something. We were always providing for someone if they needed something and helping the community, as well as trying to make some some money."

And from a young age, while other Kiwi kids were focused on Nintendo 64 and Monopoly, Blair was dealing in the real world.

"I was making deals, swapping things here and trading things there," says Blair. "I owned a car when I was 10, swapped for a couple of pigs and a pony. It was a rundown Hilux, wasn't the flashest thing. The bonnet was held down with a piece of wire and there was no driver's door so every time I waved to someone I hung right out the door."

Life changed dramatically for Blair at the age of 11, when his father was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Blair took a year off school, to run the farm with his dad, and learnt as much as he could.

"We did a whole lot of work together and we became really close," says Blair. "Even though he wasn't well, he still insisted on working for as long as possible. We were up at five in the morning and home at six at night. "

As his father got sicker, Blair had to take on more responsibility.

"It was so hard for my mother, but I tried to help her as much as I could," says Blair. "Doing some errands, taking my brothers and sisters where they needed to be."

I grew up quicker than I should have. We had no choice; someone had to run the farm and do all the work, no matter how we were feeling.

Kiwis captain Adam Blair

Blair also had to start running the farm. "I was deciding which cattle to sell and which ones to keep, what to do with the sheep and pigs and all the day-to-day things that go into running a farm. I grew up a little bit quicker than I should have, but I had to work those things out, to get what I was needed for me and my family."

There are also some funny memories from that period.

"I remember when we had to move the cattle," Blair says with a laugh. "There were days where I was riding my horse through town, driving the cattle, and all of the kids were looking at me out the window from school, as I was chasing cows through the town."

His father died when Blair was 12. "It all happened quite quickly, quicker than we imagined," says Blair. "Up until then I hadn't got too caught up in the emotional side of it, but it was hard for us. But we had to keep going. We had no choice; someone had to run the farm and do all the farm work, no matter how we were feeling. As the oldest it was natural for me to help my mother, take on those responsibilities and do the father figure thing. That has helped make me the person I am today. Looking back, that was where leadership started for me."

The following year the family moved back to Whangarei, and Blair entered high school. He progressed through the rugby ranks but his sporting career took a fateful turn as a 16-year-old.

"I had a relative who coached a league team," says Blair. "He invited me along for a muck-around game on a Sunday. It became something I did on a Sunday, after rugby union on a Saturday."

He played 1st XV at Whangarei Boys' High and was selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, but also made a composite regional league team that toured Australia, playing against junior teams from Parramatta and Penrith. From there he was offered him a scholarship by the Melbourne Storm.

"I had no family or friends there but both my grandfather and mum wanted me to give it a go," says Blair. "To get out of Whangarei, to see what's out there."

Blair moved to Brisbane, completing his last year of schooling at Wavell State High School.

"It was pretty hard, as a kid," says Blair. "The first three months was probably the toughest time I have ever gone through. I was 16 years old, had no friends and my family was away from me. I was living in a house with a family that were looking after a lot of other boys. So I had to go back to the skills I had learned growing up with dad on the farm, in terms of looking after myself. I learned very quickly how to grow up on my own. It challenged me, I came through the other end and I am still going strong today."

He broke into first grade in 2006 and has accumulated 266 NRL games. He captained the Storm during Origin periods, had a leadership role at the Tigers, was given the armband by Wayne Bennett at the Broncos and tonight will lead his country, in his 42nd test.

"I've always been more about actions, rather than words," says Blair.

"But this means so much to me, especially at a home World Cup, to lead these men into battle. I like to lead by example and I am still learning about myself as a leader. But I think about growing up pretty quickly on the farm, I think about dad. I think about doing all the work as a 10, 11-year-old and I keep doing the things that were instilled in me, that I still do to this day."

Join Radio Sport's league expert Dale Budge for a live blog of tonight's game.