Q: Andrew, you stuck to your guns coming to Harlequins even though they had been relegated, didn’t you have any qualms about coming to play here?

AM: No, I had no qualms about it at all, I made my decision based on the club, based on Harlequins, it wasn’t a decision I made based on a competition. While I say that I’m an ambitious and competitive person and want to win the competition to get Harlequins back up in the Premiership. But it wasn’t the be all and end all in terms of playing in the Premiership, having been playing for Canterbury when we certainly weren’t up the top of New Zealand rugby in the mid-90s when a few of us first started it was a fantastic journey to progress to the stage when we were up amongst it so I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to be involved in something like that again. Like I say it was the club I committed to not the competition so no second thoughts.

 

Q: Will, what is going to be your focus, you’re not selected to start on Saturday, is that a disappointment?

WG: I think most players would like to play every game for the first team for their club but I’ve just come back to pre-season, the boys have had a very good two to three week run with some strong performances. I believe Dean was saying in the press conference that it is a real opportunity this year for some young men to get some valuable experience – and that’s basically what he said to me. My personal goals for this season are to be involved in a club that gains promotion back to the Guinness Premiership and I’m looking forward to being part of that squad.

 

Q: Andrew, can you outline what the attraction of coming up here at this stage in your career is and what are your future ambitions still are?

AM: Rugby-wise I wanted to be involved in a club that has a huge amount of history and probably with values similar to what I am used to back home. Having been here for the last six weeks that certainly is the case, this is the sort of club I like being involved with. I don’t like chopping and changing so when I make a decision it’s long term, at the moment it’s only for two years but if I still feel up for it I’d like to continue on and I certainly wouldn’t want to change.

From a personal point of view I still think there’s more I can offer in terms of my own rugby, I think I can get a lot of  improvements out of myself and I still feel I can play the best rugby of my career. I think to do that the way I felt the last few years, at my age I need to play week in week out, so there is more opportunity to do that here than I would have had in the Crusaders with having played second fiddle to Daniel Carter over the last two or three seasons. So having the chance to start week in week out was an improvement on a personal level.

In terms of life in general, without saying I got stale in New Zealand, I think it’s possible to get burnt out in rugby in New Zealand because it’s very, very hard to escape from it. As much as I love New Zealand we’re obviously a small country and rugby does dominate and it makes it very difficult for the players to be able to get away from it. I just think in the case of my fiancée Jacqueline and I that this was a good option at this time in our lives to get away, not that I want to be touristy while I’m over here but there’s just so much to do outside of rugby here and I think it’s going to help my rugby a lot having that balance. I really think I’ll be able to get more out of myself than I ever have.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity of playing with one team for the whole season, rather than in New Zealand where you have 11 weeks of Super 12, plus a bit of pre-season, then the same again with NPC and a certain number of weeks with internationals. Having to peak three times really does take it out of you mentally and physically. I like the look of the set up of the season here.

 

Q: Have you been advised what to expect this weekend?

AM: I’m not sure any of us really know what to expect and that’s probably a good thing, I think we’re all going to be on edge and pretty nervous come game time and I think that’s a good thing. We respect them but we don’t know a lot about them, or I don’t personally, I’ve tried to get as much information as I can, looking at the web site and stuff like that. I know Sharmons Cross Road is a tough ground to play at, I know they finished mid-table last year and had some good performances and they’ve got a lot of good players which I think will be the case in the whole of division 1. I’m really looking forward to it.

 

Q: Have you given up hope of playing in the Rugby World Cup in 2007?

AM: I think realistically yes. I thought I wasn’t going to be part of the All Black thinking for 2007 and like I say I was at the right stage of my life to do something different. I’ve got no regrets, I’ve been watching the All Black games, I’ve been supporting them of course, and I was delighted with the result at the weekend. [Smiling at Vos]
AV: Some money changed hands
AM: I got my five pounds back from the first game
I haven’t had any pangs of second thoughts, I haven’t really been missing it. I’m at the stage of my life when I’m an All Black supporter again and I’m glad to be so, but I’ve got no regrets at all.

 

Q: There was a time a little while back when the All Blacks didn’t think much of the England players, you’ve got yourself, Spencer and Marshall over here, has the attitude changed, has the view of English rugby altered?

AM: [Laughing] Yes, I think so. When you talk about the comments we were making a few years ago, I can’t remember exactly what I said, I’m not sure I was getting at the players. There was a time when the media tended to treat English rugby as the be all and end all and that can be a wee bit annoying and I don’t think that we’re immune to that either, in New Zealand we tend to rave about the Super 12 and almost begrudge any good words about the Premiership or any competitions over here, but as a player I don’t think we see it like that. In terms of players I think they are the same everywhere, I’ve seen that guys here are very similar to the guys back home – the same continuous repetitive jokes, the same cheap shots at everyone and it’s great. So from that perspective I don’t know what I came across as saying, I don’t think I was getting at the players with what I way saying…
WG: He was getting at you [pointing at the press] not us!
AM: I do think we’ve got a bit of a chip on our shoulders in New Zealand being a small country and under the umbrella of the British Commonwealth and stuff. The loss in 1993 annoyed a lot of players and they sort of fed it on to the younger guys. I’m a big enough man to say that I was shooting my mouth off a wee bit too much, but those of you who know me will know that’s not unusual. Like I say the players here are the same as any place in the world, the same sort of values and that sort of thing, I’m delighted to be here, I’ve been made very welcome by the guys here, I’ve enjoyed myself immensely so far and I looking forward to the rest of the season, I really am.

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