All Blacks: Break as good as a change for hard man

Rodney So'oialo trains at Trusts Stadium in Henderson for the test against Australia at Eden Park tomorrow night. Photo / Brett Phibbs

When he made his test debut Rodney So'oialo weighed 95kg and had a good neck.

Seven years on from that start against Wales in Cardiff, the No 8 has pushed his body through the collisions in 55 internationals and stacked on a further 13kg.

So'oialo has a reputation as a gym rat, an exercise freak who refuses to see any stop signs in his career, someone who lives by the old creed: the harder he works the better he gets.

But he had to put a halt to playing rugby at the end of the Super 14.

It took some time to convince him but All Black coach Graham Henry and others persuaded So'oialo that if he took time out from the June internationals, he could extend his career. There was initial resistance probably for several reasons. So'oialo just loves playing footy and also understands the saying about suckers and even breaks.

There is no transcript of the conversations between the No 8 and the national selectors but the outcome was a layoff for the 29-year-old. The consequence has been a rejuvenated So'oialo.

"I am feeling way better than I did at the end of the Super 14," he admitted yesterday. "I think when you are playing you keep going, trying to do the best you can, but if I was going to continue with the All Blacks I would have been at about 80 per cent instead of 100 so it was best that I take the time off to try and get the body right again."

The No 8 had lost some weight and his neck was aggravating him. He knew he would not do the All Black job complete justice but was reluctant to leave the group.

"That was tough, tough not to be able to assemble but in the long run you have got to be even more selfish and look after yourself. It not only benefits yourself but the team in the long run."

Once the decision was made, it took So'oialo several weeks to get over his disappointment. Then he started to feel the benefits of training and not playing. His neck improved, his confidence rose, he understood.

So'oialo does not intend to cut down on his exercise regime. That is his modus operandi, that is the way he has risen and stayed at the top, but he will take advice on his playing schedule. Everything became harder in professional rugby. There were more meetings, more computer work, players were bigger and faster, contact was more brutal. Bodies took a pounding while players always need to refresh their minds.

"If you do the same things all the time you will get bored with it. So you have to have the variety."

So'oialo is glad that variety in the form of time away from the game has finished. Eden Park against the Bledisloe Cup rivals - it is a biggie first time back on the international stage.

"It is a big occasion," he said. "Tri-Nations is one of those exciting times, one of the games you really want to play."