No. 14 Matt Lord

Imagine having plans for Christmas all sorted out. Plenty of work was at hand and there loads to do for a man with a young family and an interest in the family farm. One night – late, a call from England woke Matt Lord from his sleep and 48 hours later his life had changed.He had gone from a player with North Harbour with summers on the farm to being a full-time rugby professional at Northampton. What is 12,500 miles when it comes to a game of footy?That contract was only for a season but we all know that the fans took Lordy to heart and the Management (Wayne Smith and Brendon Ratcliffe) found something in him that was missing from the Saints. Wayne Smith’s mantra about leaving a part of you on the paddock is something we see in Lordy every time he puts on the shirt.

He is now in his sixth season and is still putting in his all – just doing m’job, mate – is how he puts it.Matt has played 135 times for the Saints. If he gets a starting shirt this weekend it will be the 100^th time he has been in the starting line-up. He did not take long to notch up his first try. He scored up at Newcastle in his first season. The second one is proving to be elusive but he lives in hope.He was Player of the Year for 2004/5 and was as happy as the rest of us with the start we made but then it all started to go wrong. Games were being lost by small margins, performance had dipped and we just went from bad to worse. It was a bit difficult to get your head round it all.Not that we wanted to be where we are this year but, at the moment, life is good.

The team is playing well and there is a really good team spirit. Matt has also been able to catch up with a few mates from back home at North Harbour. He played with Tim Cowley of Pirates and Tim Walsh of Newbury Blues back in those days.

As you would expect, Lordy is friendly with pretty much everyone in his quiet unassuming sort of way.Opponents for whom he has particular regard include Simon Shaw and Danny Grewcock. Apparently Lordy has never had a problem with Grewcock. Memories of Grewcock’s antipathy to Mark Connors and his scrum cap drew a big grin.His closest mates England can be found in the ranks of the Saintly Kiwis and barely a week goes by without him getting in touch with folks at home.

Somehow it did not come as a surprise that Matt likes to melt into a ToffeePops moment. Just in case you had not guessed these are biscuits made by Griffins in New Zealand - Biscuits topped with a caramel toffee and covered with creamy milk chocolate. 

arw 8.02.2008

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