There is not the remotest doubt in Sam Nock's mind that his life has been improved immeasurably by accepting a scholarship at St Kentigern College.
His dream, for as long as he can remember, has been to play for the All Blacks. His father, Peter, is the high-performance manager for the Northland Rugby Union and through that role he saw how 80 per cent of the boys who make the New Zealand Secondary Schools team go on to make the New Zealand Under-20 side, and 80 per cent of those boys then go on to make Super 15 squads.
He also saw that to make the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, Sam really needed to be closer to 18 than 17 by the time he reached Year 13 (only boys in Year 13 are eligible for selection).
A request to be held back a year at Kerikeri High School was refused - leading to a switch to Moerewa. It wasn't ideal - nobody in the Nock family was convinced by the educational or rugby merits, but Sam was back in Year 8 at least and that allowed him to play one more year for the Northland Roller Mills team.
He starred at first-five for a side that was one of the best in the competition and that triggered a chain of events. He was invited to attend an interview at St Kent's - they were keen to offer him a rugby scholarship - and in 2012, as a Year 11 boy, he played every game in their unbeaten campaign and is said to be thriving academically.
