Rugby: Slater true example of spirit in provinces

By CHRIS RATTUE

Canterbury v Taranaki

Andy Slater was just a few paces away from a Super 12 debut this year when his injured Taranaki team-mate, Paul Tito, raised himself from the Palmerston North Showgrounds turf and left his provincial captain in the wings.

Slater never made it on to the field for the Hurricanes against the Cats on that March night.

It is the nearest Slater, a lock, has come to a Super 12 appearance, one that those in Taranaki especially believe he richly deserves.

At the age of 30, his chance may have gone.

But while others may plead his case, in a typical piece of Slater homespun philosophy, it is another case of no regrets.

"To be honest, at my age the Super 12 isn't really something I'm worried about," he said.

"I might have felt differently four or five years ago when the Super 12 started, but I'm married now with two young children.

"I was a five-day add-on to the Hurricanes to cover injuries. I was just proud to be there."

Instead, Taranaki is where Andy Slater's heart lies. When he leads his team tonight in an NPC first-division semifinal against Canterbury at Jade Stadium, it will be the Slater courage that his side will desperately need to inspire them against the odds.

Slater epitomises what provincial rugby used to be all about - a player who might not have the equipment or luck to go any higher, but one who relishes what playing for his union is all about.

To tamper with the great JFK line, ask not what your union can do for you, but what you can do for your union. That might be the Slater motto.

The sacrifices the Slater family make for Taranaki rugby evoke a reminder of a different age, when players were paid nothing, or a pittance, and needed careers outside rugby.

Andy and his All Black brother, Gordon, run 260 dairy cattle on a couple of farms, now that their parents have moved on to running a flower export business.

But throughout the rugby season, Don and Ailsa Slater take care of the milking on Thursday training nights, and when their sons are playing out of town.

It means the Slater parents have never seen their sons play away games, which will again be the case when Taranaki take on Canterbury tonight.

"Our parents have given us so much," Andy Slater said.

"My father was the chairman of a large dairy company so I guess I got some leadership skills from him.

"Our mother taught us to get on with things and don't make a fuss.

"It hasn't always been easy running the farms and playing, especially as the NPC runs through calving time.

"You get a bit tired at times. But I guess we are old school and you play for the pride of your province.

"New Plymouth Boys' High School, where I went, has a proud rugby tradition, and so does the Old Boys club I play for, so I guess those kind of values have run right through my career.

"But our parents have made so much of it possible.

"When I play, I think of the sacrifices they have made. It drives you on.

"Sometimes when we come back from an away game when Taranaki have lost or we haven't played well I really feel I've let them down."

Juggling playing, farming and family is, Slater said, getting pretty tough.

He is on a year-by-year contract with Taranaki, and is unsure if he will return next season.

If this is to be the Slater swansong, and he is not saying yes or no, he will leave a proud provincial record behind him.

The highlight was winning the Ranfurly Shield from Auckland at Eden Park in 1996, followed by two NPC semifinal appearance in the past three seasons.

The semifinal hiding against a fine Otago side two years ago was not quite the way the story was supposed to go, but Slater is hoping his side has learned some lessons from that.

Since making his debut in 1989, the loose forward-cum-lock has missed only a couple of games, due to a suspension and family bereavement.

In that time he has amassed more than 160 games for Taranaki, including about 100 in the first and second divisions.

But more than that, when Andy Slater runs on to the field, Taranaki fans know they are getting the real deal, someone who can only give his all.

Slater believes that to retain players and to stay in the race, Taranaki will have to make all their players professional, at least for the duration of the rugby season.

"Professionalism hasn't really affected out team at the moment ... but I see a time coming very soon when that will have to change,"

By his own words, Andy Slater is a dying breed of first-division rugby player.

There will be plenty around the country hoping, with a sentimental hand on their heart, that his season does not end tonight.

So how does he rate Taranaki's chances?

"It is a tall order, but some of the big unions are showing the effects of their players having played too much rugby. This is the biggest game of the year for most of our team. We only have five Super 12 players. There is a real buzz in the side."

Canterbury: Ben Blair, Marika Vunibaka, Mark Mayerhofler, Daryl Gibson (capt), Caleb Ralph, Andrew Mehrtens, Justin Marshall, Sam Broomhall, Scott Robertson, Reuben Thorne, Norm Maxwell, Todd Blackadder, Greg Somerville, Mark Hammett, David Hewett. Res: Afato So'oalo, Nathan Mauger, Ben Hurst; Dallas Seymour, Chris Jack, Greg Feek, Matt Sexton.

Taranaki: Daryl Lilley, Neil Brew, Faapolou Soolefai, Mepi Faoagali, Lome Fa'atau, Mark Urwin, Brendan Haami, Campbell Feather, Neil Crowley, Brent Thompson, Andy Slater (capt), Paul Tito, Gordon Slater, Daniel Smith, Tama Tuirirangi. Res: Kerry Eynon, Craig Taylor, Craig Fevre; Darryl Fale, Keith Robinson, Tony Penn, Phil Mitchell.