Randell's swansong off key

The unravelling of the Highlanders this season was the biggest disappointment of Taine Randell's New Zealand career.

Randell confirmed yesterday that he would leave Dunedin this month to take up a two-year contract with English club Saracens.

The man who played 51 All Black tests - 19 as captain, 83 games for Otago and 77 for the Highlanders had many highs and lows.

But none hurt him so much as the shambolic end to the Super 12 season for the Highlanders, a side he had captained since 1997.

"We lost tests with the All Blacks, a number when I was captain, but ... we were always committed to trying to win," Randell said.

"I couldn't say the same thing about the way the Highlanders finished."

Randell, aged 28, said he and his wife, Jo, had intended last year to be his Highlanders swansong.

"I had a good chat to Laurie [coach Laurie Mains] and decided to stay for one more Super 12.

"For most of the competition we had a good team," he said. "After we beat the Brumbies [45-19], we were in a good position to push on to the play-offs.

"Then things came to a head. Matters weren't handled in an Otago sort of way and that was disappointing."

Randell stood solidly behind Mains, who resigned as coach in the last week of the Super 12 season.

"Sometimes Laurie's goals and views weren't the same as those of the administrators.

"But as a player in his team, you never doubted where his loyalty lay."

Randell said the ethos of Otago rugby had changed, partly because of professionalism.

"As a student, you'd train twice a week and play as hard as you could because you knew you'd get free beer afterwards.

"Rugby wasn't a career when I came to Dunedin to study; it was a byproduct of living here. To play in the NPC then was the ultimate.

"Players come down here now as a career move. Super 12 teams tend to be hybrid sides, and I don't think the parochialism is quite as intense."

Randell said his initial selection for the All Blacks in 1995 rated as a career highlight.

Other highlights included the Bledisloe Cup victory in Sydney in 2000, when Randell set up Jonah Lomu for the winning try, the Otago NPC title win in 1998 and Dunedin's club championship win in 1995, when they were big underdogs.

The lows included the past Highlanders season, captaining the All Blacks to five consecutive losses in 1998 and the 1999 World Cup semifinal loss.

Randell likes what he sees about much of the 2003 All Blacks but cautioned against excessive hype.

"I can sort of see remnants of 1999, when the buildup was that we were going to win the World Cup. We have to acknowledge we were beaten in our own backyard by England and we struggled against France."

- NZPA