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'He'll get people to run through a brick wall': Liam Messam on why Cane is perfect for All Blacks captaincy

Captain Sam Cane talks to media during a New Zealand All Blacks captain's run at Sky Stadium on October 10, 2020 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Former All Blacks backrower Liam Messam has sung the praises of All Black Sam Cane, ahead of the 28-year-olds first test as permanent captain of the national side.

Messam played with Cane at the Chiefs where they won back-to-back Super Rugby titles together in 2012 and 2013, and also won a World Cup alongside each other a few years later in England.

Writing in his column on The XV, a long-form rugby content website, Messam looks back on what it was like training alongside the then 19-year-old, and how he felt that Cane has “long been destined” to lead the All Blacks. In ‘Destiny’s Child’, Messam wrote: “When Sam Cane first wandered into Chiefs training about a decade ago, I was blown away at the size of him.

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“Here was a teenager, built like a fully grown man and putting plenty of the Chiefs boys to shame.

“Although Sammy an absolute man-child when he first arrived – still just a teenager but with the frame of a professional player 10 years his senior, I was still impressed with how he went about his work. He wasn’t overwhelmed training alongside Super Rugby legends like Mils Muliaina, Tana Umaga and Tanerau Latimer, he just got stuck in.”

Cane’s first start for the Chiefs against the Crusaders in Napier in 2011, a game that pitted the then up-and-comer against one of the best to have ever played the position in Richie McCaw, is a match which stands out to Messam.

During that game and since, Messam said that he’s been impressed with Cane’s knack for doing the dirty work that doesn’t always make it to the highlight reel. In particular, his brutality in defence has stood out.

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Tom 8 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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