Rookie flanker learning from Canty's old hands | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

GIVE US a quick biog, Matt.

I grew up in Kaiapoi, went to
Christchurch Boys' High in my seventh
form year, and played First XV there.
The first footie I played was soccer, and I
started playing rugby for Kaiapoi when I
was seven or eight. My first year out of
school I went back to Kaiapoi and played
seniors out there, and this season is my
fourth with Christchurch.

What do you do away from rugby?

I'm studying a business management
paper through CPIT, and I've also done a
personal trainer's course and worked as
a personal trainer.

When was your Canterbury debut?

Against Waikato last year, third
round of the competition. Since I was
little I've watched Canterbury and
wanted to play for them, so it was a
special occasion to finally make my
debut, and obviously that much better
when you have a good team performance
on your debut game.

What's been your career highlight
so far?

Being part of the team that won the
Air New Zealand Cup last year, and also
to be part of the team that won the shield
up there in Wellington, where I came off
the bench. In my first season and to be
involved in both those things _ some
people play 10 years and might not ever
have it happen. You take it a little bit for
granted when you're young, but those
are certainly things I'll always
remember.

Who were your heroes as a
youngster?

Andrew Mehrtens, even though he
was not my position. But he was the star
of the team, and obviously as I grew up
Richie, being in a similar position, was a
player I followed a bit and looked up to.

It's a big ask to be a young loose
forward in Canterbury?

Exactly, there's a lot of talent here.
But also it's good to be able to see how
they operate in training, and train with
them and learn a lot from them.

The guys are unbeaten, but wouldn't
be thrilled about the first two games?

There's still a hell of a lot of
improvement to do, especially last
weekend we took a step backwards from
the week before. There's a few key areas
we really want to correct heading into
North Harbour here on Friday night.
Although we're not sitting too bad in the
table, there's a lot of stuff that needs to
be improved if we want to be a
competitive team this year.

What's the themes this week?

Obviously defensively we leaked quite
a few tries, we really need to focus that
up. And treasuring the ball a bit more. At
the moment we're giving it away a bit too
easy, either in the contact or just
chucking passes that don't need to be
chucked. So if we work on those two
areas and have a big improvement from
the Manawatu game, we should be right
on Friday.

Are Kaiapoi going to win the North
Canterbury final on Saturday?

My brother Paul is assistant coach of

 

the Kaiapoi team and I have a few mates
out there as well, so I certainly hope
Kaiapoi can get up. I don't think they've
won it for a few years, and they beat
Glenmark in the semis which is never an
easy ask.

What's your favourite movie?

Shawshank Redemption.

TV?

Two and a Half Men, or the Big Bang
Theory. And Outrageous Fortune!

Favourite holiday destination?

Wanaka. I've spent quite a bit of time
there.

Wheels?

An old 1989 Mazda 626 with a few
dents. Gets me from A to B!

Team stirrer?

Andy Ellis, but a few of the younger
boys like to have a bit of cheek. Paul

 

Ngauamo is never short of something to
say.

Which forward spends most time in
front of the mirror?

Isaac Ross!

Which player spends most time
texting or on the phone?

Probably Sam Monaghan.