Rugby: King heads off name problem

North Harbour lock James King has the mindset to go all the way to the top. Photo / Getty Images

There's a good reason James King wears garish licorice allsorts-coloured headgear and it's not just because of the free kit he gets from Canterbury apparel.

The 23-year-old lock wants to make a name for himself and figures this is one way to do it. When he first played for North Harbour, television commentators mistakenly called him Chris Smith.

When he donned regular headgear after surgery on a cauliflower ear, the commentators got it wrong again and called him Anthony Boric.

"I thought, 'you know what? I'm going to get some headgear that no one will ever recognise as someone else'," says King.

"I went and designed it with Canterbury. It's called Licorice Allsorts. It's out there. There are a few orders now from Japan, so it's going well."

King isn't likely to make it as a designer but there's no doubt he's colourful, confident and controversial in equal measures. He almost got "sorted out" by Ali Williams on one of his first days at Blues training for being too lippy (he baited Williams by saying he was half his age and twice as fast) and many perceive his confidence as arrogance ("people either love me or hate me," he says almost proudly).

But there's little doubt he is a talented lock and has the potential to play at the highest level. He is, as some describe him, Isaac Ross but with grunt. He's just as athletic and mobile as the Canterbury lock and he's not afraid to put his 2m, 109kg body on the line.

King had an excellent NPC campaign with Harbour last season, emerging as one of the finds of the season. He won more lineouts than any other lock in the country and was among Harbour's leading linebreakers.

He narrowly missed selection for the Blues - he was in the wider training squad - and missed his chance to replace Williams. As fate would have it, King had shoulder surgery the day before Williams re-injured his Achilles tendon.

But his shoulder injury was much worse than first thought and he would have struggled anyway. Friday night's match against Canterbury was just his second this year and his challenge is to recapture the sort of form he displayed in a losing Harbour outfit in 2009.

If he can, a Super 15 contract should be waiting at the end of the ITM Cup. He doesn't think he will be wanted by the Blues, but others, including Harbour coach Craig Dowd, do.

"I would be surprised if James isn't one of the first names on Pat's [Lam, Blues coach] team list," says Dowd. "If Pat doesn't want him, I know four other franchises which will gladly pick him up.

"He's an athlete. He's as quick as most of our backs, which is a great asset for a tight forward, and he's got great aerial skills and he's explosive.

"I believe he has the potential to be an All Black. He's definitely got the attitude to go all the way. It's a mindset. You see a lot of players with a lot of natural ability and potential but it's having that drive and hunger, which James has.

"When he's challenged, and he likes to be challenged, he will go out of his way to meet any challenge and prove anyone wrong. If someone says to him, 'you can't do that James', he will prove he can."

King still has some way to go before he achieves his ultimate goal but his scenario is symptomatic of a wider one faced by North Harbour.

He's not afraid to move to further his rugby - and his bank account - which would deplete Harbour's stocks. The union could struggle to retain their best players if they don't qualify for the top seven of next year's ITM Cup, which is a big ask of a side that finished 12th in the past two seasons.

As much as rugby bosses have tried to make both divisions of next year's ITM Cup meaningful, it's inevitable the best players will gravitate to the top division.

Says former Harbour coach and All Black selector Peter Thorburn: "I'm a life member and North Harbour is in my blood but I'm not comfortable with what they are achieving at the moment, like a lot of people.

"They shouldn't be where they are.

"If they don't make the top seven, players will leave and then who will come here? They have some major problems."

On Friday night, they slumped to their second defeat of the season, going down 44-22 to Canterbury. King came on after 46 minutes as he continues his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.