Rugby: Jack farewells 'easy rugby' for AB's bid

SYDNEY - Returning All Blacks lock Chris Jack has farewelled what he describes as "easy rugby" in the northern hemisphere and vowed to stamp his mark on New Zealand.

Jack will lock the Barbarians scrum against the Wallabies here on Saturday night before a brief stint with South African side Western Province, then a return home to eye the 2010 Super 14 and perhaps an All Blacks jersey.

The 67-test lock played two seasons for Saracens in the English premiership, until a South African takeover saw him part ways with the club in February.

He admitted the England stint left him feeling he had more to offer back in New Zealand.

"I'm not going back just to muck around. If I wanted to muck around I would have stayed up there. I want to come back and I want to play well. If I wanted to play easy rugby I would have stayed up in the northern hemisphere," Jack said today.

"I want to play good rugby again. I want to play challenging rugby and I want to enjoy it. The premiership gets a bit tough after a while of the same sort of stuff. It's good to play some rugby that's enjoyable and like-minded, I guess."

Jack said the upside of his stint was gathering a wider range of rugby knowledge from coaches Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick.

The 30-year-old said he missed international rugby.

His last test was the World Cup quarterfinal defeat to France in Cardiff in 2007 which he played off the bench.

Safely through Saturday's match, where he'll partner compatriot Paul Tito against Wallabies locks Nathan Sharpe and James Horwill, Jack will head to South Africa.

As part of his Saracens contract he'll join Western Province as a loan player for a short period.

"You always need to know your enemy. It'll be a good chance to get to know them a bit more, and learn. They (South Africa) seem to produce the best locks in the world so it's a good chance to see what they do."

He wasn't expecting red carpet treatment on his return to Canterbury, where new All Black Isaac Ross and veteran Brad Thorn were the established combination. Jack was happy to see Ross' rapid rise to international status.

"They did extremely well, and Isaac doing well was awesome. He's playing well and Brad's playing really well too.

"That's the way it is, if you don't back yourself you're not going to get anywhere so I'll give it my best."

Jack joined the chorus of Barbarians enthused about their experience in the past fortnight, where they beat England 33-26 at Twickenham and now eye an imposing Wallabies side.

His only worry was his level of fitness for what should be an up-tempo contest at the Sydney Football Stadium.

"We've really got into the Baabaas lifestyle, the boys have had a good time and we've enjoyed Sydney and London. We're here to have some fun and hopefully put on a show.

"We're proud men and we've all played a lot of test matches. We're here to play well and do our best."

- NZPA