A former All Black suggests experienced rugby players grounded in New Zealand at the moment could play a role in mentoring rising stars.
Elliot Dixon, the last Southland Stags forward to line up in an All Black jersey, made a mercy dash from Japan back to New Zealand soon before the country went into lockdown.
Dixon has a contract with Japanese club the Ricoh Black Rams but the 2020 season was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is unknown when rugby will operating again in Japan and Dixon is none-the-wiser of when he’ll be needed back.
“It’s a little bit of an eye-opener that all your plans can get undone like this. It’s a bit frightening, but I’m lucky I’ve got another year with the contract and hopefully, there’s that foot in the door to go back over,” he said.
Dixon is still getting paid by his Japanese club but it’s on a month-to-month basis.
The 30-year-old has joined his wife and three young children in Christchurch, where they have family, as Dixon awaits more clarity on his rugby future.
He hoped to use the time in New Zealand to get a back problem fixed through surgery, but he otherwise was unsure what would unfold in the future.
Dixon acknowledged it was a possibility some professional players, who have unexpectedly returned to New Zealand, could now play in the Mitre 10 Cup provincial competition this year if it got up and running.
Although those players would need to be given clearance from their Japanese clubs.
If they could play, Dixon believed most players would snap up the opportunity to line up for their provinces again.
He added that even if those players were unable to take to the field, they could still play a role in the Mitre 10 Cup by passing on the knowledge they had built up.
Dixon suggested those experienced players could take on a mentoring/coaching type position with provinces.
It was something he did with the Southland Stags last year and he enjoyed it.
“I came into trainings and just talked to the younger fellas, and just went through game strategies with the coaches.”
“It would be quite a cool idea. It would be giving back to the provinces, not asking for a wage, but just getting some work experience, or life experience, under the belt by helping the province out.”
“I found it really refreshing when Tony Brown first came into the Highlanders because he had just finished playing and he knew what the players were thinking with the training loads and when burnout is happening and ways to motivate them. I think it’s a key asset to try to tap into.”
Dixon is unsure if he will be around Southland this year, given everything is up in the air at the moment, but says he still has a soft spot for the province he adopted as his own in 2010.
“I would love to come back, whether it will be this year, or when I’m finishing up my career, to come and give back again. It’s just about the time and place and seeing what happens in the next couple of months.”
