Rugby: Making a jump from basketball

Tu Umaga-Marshall, of Canterbury, has slotted comfortably into the kick-chase game of the modern winger. Photo / Getty Images

The genetics were flawless, the handling skills impeccable. There was only one thing holding Tu Umaga-Marshall back from being a teenage rugby sensation - basketball was his game.

That all changed in 2005 when he started to make his way swiftly through the sevens ranks.

Now Umaga-Marshall, a 26-year-old product of league stronghold Wainuiomata, stands 80 minutes away from winning an Air New Zealand Cup for Canterbury.

He will play on the wing where, ironically, he believes his lack of rugby grounding has come in useful. As the new rules have encouraged a game based around a strong kick-chase, wing play has become an almost counter-intuitive, safety-first pursuit.

"We're still expected to be finishers," Umaga-Marshall said.

"But we also talk about owning the sky, owning the race to the ball and being the extra loose forward. That's the way rugby is now."

Growing up in the valley that produced the likes of John Lomax, Paul Whatuira and David Faiumu, Umaga-Marshall said he had two real heroes: his mother Sina and her youngest brother, uncle Tana.

Uncle Tana, you might have heard elsewhere, went on to fame and relative fortune, but that is another story.

Nephew Tu had one other sporting hero and that was Michael Jordan, and it was the large round Spalding that Umaga-Marshall pursued all through Hutt Valley High and into the National Basketball League, first with the Waikato Pistons and, finally, Nelson Giants.

"I had a choice and played basketball. I loved it. I was a point guard so I was always involved. I didn't play much rugby at all, in fact I didn't start playing until '05," Umaga-Marshall said.

Sevens was his route into the oval-ball code. The fast-paced game offered him an opportunity to showcase his skills but it also meant some donning the Gordon Tietjens hairshirt.

"I had to suffer through his camps," Umaga-Marshall recalled. "Being a brown boy, I never really liked running. It's not enjoyable, no way, but it's all worth it.

"Once you make it through those camps you feel better, not just about your ability, but yourself, so it's been really good."

The differences between the semi-professional world of basketball and the rugby environment were stark, and it wasn't just about the size of the cheque he was depositing into his bank account.

"You train hard in basketball, but it is far more skill-based. You shoot, you pass and you do that over and over again. In rugby there is a lot more emphasis on strength and conditioning. It's just a far more professional environment."

Sevens was nice, but fifteens is where Umaga-Marshall's heart now lies, ever since he received a call from Rob Penney out of the blue this year.

"He'd seen some of my clips. He decided I was good enough to play down here and offered me a contract."

It was not a smooth ride into the starting XV. A long-standing back complaint saw him sidelined early and it was only some scintillating form for his club side Sydenham, that saw him brought back into the red and black fold. He had to scrap for his place and Penney and his assistant, former All Black Tabai Matson, liked the fight they saw in him.

A Super 14 contract would be the next logical step, but Umaga-Marshall's sporting story is back-to-front enough for him to know that it might not happen straight away. For the moment, he's just loving the Canterbury culture, and we're not talking about the Rita Angus collection at the art gallery here.

"I love it down here," said the winger. "I've loved every moment of it. Nothing has been bad since the day I got down here. Even the weather hasn't been bad. I was expecting snow.

"The guys are great and the coaches are great but it's the little things I've noticed about the environment that make it top notch. The guy who prepares the field. If there's a spot on the grass he doesn't like, he gets angry ... but he hardly ever has to get angry."