Rugby: Game time would sound sweet

Onosa'i Auva'a. Photo / Getty Images

If there is a silver lining to Onosa'i Auva'a's potentially season-ending knee injury, it is that he will have more time to devote to recording the Auckland team song he composed.

The 25-year-old flanker hyper-extended his right knee in the last play of training on Wednesday and should learn this week if it will be a four-week or season-ending injury.

He had been in good form for Auckland in the early weeks of the ITM Cup and was hopeful of securing a Super 15 contract but that is all up in the air now.

"Picking up a Super 15 contract was the goal," he says. "I was really disappointed I missed out on one this year and I knew I had to work really hard to impress the coaches. I was tracking well and then this happened. It's a big blow for me."

It's also a setback for Auckland, who need to get their ITM Cup campaign back on track against Taranaki today after a dismal performance against Canterbury last week.

Auva'a still has something to look forward to. On Wednesday, the Auckland team song he composed will be recorded in a studio and a video shot.

Auva'a composed the tune and lyrics after being approached by captain Daniel Braid earlier in the season. He was the natural one to do it, having already released a solo album called Chasing Dreams, which features nine tracks of easy-listening music.

Auva'a initially had trouble recruiting team-mates to provide back-up vocals for the recording but most changed their mind when they found out a video would also be recorded and could feature a handful of All Blacks as well as some notable Auckland musicians.

"It's going to be a first," he says enthusiastically. "I don't think any other team has put out their own team song and video clip. It's really exciting."

Auva'a is not your typical rugby player. Not even close.

In the professional era, most are pigeonholed into being rugby players first, Playstation aficionados second and students third. Auva'a is certainly the former and the latter but a whole lot more.

The well-spoken blindside flanker had to put his chemistry degree on hold because of rugby - attendance at labs are compulsory - but is writing music and studying theology around his rugby commitments. He even thinks he could combine all three at some time.

"A lot of times people say that being a professional rugby player you don't get time to do much but we are done most of the time by 1pm and we have the rest of the day to relax. I try to use the time as best as I can. I use it to study or record music.

"My wife tells me all the time I'm different. I have been raised to take every opportunity in life, not just in rugby. Mum was really musical and Dad has been on top of his study - he's just got his masters - so I guess I have a different approach."

It's as a rugby player, however, that Auva'a is best known. He first burst onto the scene with the New Zealand sevens team who won gold at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and made his Super Rugby debut for the Blues the same year before playing for Auckland.

It's often been frustrating in the four years since, especially as he's had to spend plenty of time on the bench watching Braid play.

Braid's move to the Reds provided an opening but Auva'a didn't always take it because of injuries as well as inconsistent form and selections. He was only part of the Blues' wider training squad this year but the change in law interpretations has reinvigorated his game.

Auva'a is considered one of the fastest forwards in the country. His pace, which often gets him to the breakdown first, and ability to link play with the backs are assets in modern rugby.

He now just needs a break. The first would be returning from injury soon.