The Star: September 12, 2019

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The Star Thursday September 12 2019 40 SPORT 7 MARCH LINCOLN Tickets On Sale Now www.selwynsounds.co.nz Almond fuels life after the All Whites The Star looks back each week at Canterbury’s sporting icons from yesteryear. This week Gordon Findlater talks to former All Whites defender Bobby Almond about playing in a World Cup and pumping fuel on Blenheim Rd THE MAN at the heart of the famous 1982 All Whites defence has gone from loud mouth centre half to friendly-faced fuel boy. Bobby Almond ran onto the pitch 49 times for the All Whites between 1978 and 1982. He played in all 15 qualifying games for the side en route to their 1982 FIFA World Cup debut in Spain and played in their pool matches against Brazil and Scotland. Almond has lived in Christchurch since moving from England in 1973. He has worked in the fuel industry for more than 30 years, mostly as a business manager for Caltex. These days he can still be found pumping fuel part-time at Caltex on Blenheim Rd. Almond, 67, grew up in South London and played much of his early football there before being picked up on an amateur contract with North London giants Tottenham Hotspurs’ youth side. “I had a chance to go to Millwall being a South London boy, but the thoughts of playing for Spurs was a good draw,” said Almond. “I didn’t drive a car by then, so it was about two underground trains, four buses and a cycle just to get to training.” Almond’s youth team at Spurs in 1969/70 had no shortage of success. In his one year with the side, they won the national youth league and three different cups, including the FA Youth Cup. The team featured future legends Steve Perryman and Graham Souness. Perryman played a club record 655 games for Spurs, while Souness went on to win multiple league titles and European Cups with Liverpool. “He [Souness] was something special. He wasn’t the quickest of players, but just really intelligent and had great skills,” said Almond. Following the 1969/70 season, Almond was let go by Spurs. He then had a trial with Leyton Orient – which had just been promoted to the second division. His one opportunity to push his case for a professional contract with the club came in an ill-fated match against Queens Park Rangers. “I was playing right-back at the time and they had a left winger there called Martyn Busby and he just roasted me, roasted me and roasted me again . . . effectively I never saw the manager after, so my endeavours into the professional world sort of stopped from there,” he said. Almond played for his local non-league side Walthamstow Avenue before making a bold move to the other side of the globe to play football. The decision to come to Christchurch was made after Almond received a phone call from his old team mate Bruce MacDonald, who was managing New Brighton at the time. “He rung me up during a game and said ‘do you want to come over’ and I said ‘yes, I think I’ll have some of that’ because I was really at a loose end and it’s probably turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said. It didn’t take long for Almond to make an impact at New Brighton. “It was a different lifestyle for me, but I really enjoyed it. Being a young man I obviously enjoyed PUMPED: Former All Whites defender Bobby Almond can still be found pumping fuel part-time at Caltex on Blenheim Rd. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN the social life quite a lot and used to get into trouble a wee bit. I think I can recall when I was playing for Brighton I got sent off in my second ever game up in Auckland because I told the ref to F off or something to that extend. That was the rebellious side coming out in me.” Following one season with Brighton, Almond was recruited by high-flying Christchurch United. He went on to play about 200 games for United between 1975 and 1988, winning four national league titles and two Chatham Cups. He also played one season with Invercargill Thistle in 1982 and played a handful of seasons for Woolston Technical following his time at United, until he broke his leg in 1994. However, Almond is best known for his time with the national team and helping them reach their first ever World Cup. In 1976, the defender became eligible to play for New Zealand and soon after made his All Whites debut in 1978 against a touring England B side at the Basin reserve in Wellington. The England B side featured the likes of Glenn Hoddle, Paul Mariner, Brian Talbot, Joe Corrigan and Alan Kennedy. Almond says Mariner was one of the toughest strikers he ever had to mark. The two had a run in during the match in Wellington, which flowed through to the second match in Auckland. “I rushed into a tackle with him and caught him on the nose. He had quite a large nose, but it was bigger after that . . . he got his own back in the game in Auckland when he did me in a tackle,” he said. While Almond says the All Whites run to the World Cup and playing against Brazil and Scotland at the tournament are his career highlights, another special time came as a coach years later. In 2002 he guided Ferrymead Bays – which had been promoted to the Mainland Premier League for the first time – to a league title in their first attempt. “It was a really brilliant time. I got a lot of pleasure out of coaching that club. I still hold that title win in a very special place,” said Almond. These days he enjoys walking his dog and the odd round of golf. He’s looking forward to teeing off at The Centre Circle fundraising event at the Harewood golf course on November 29. The Centre Circle was originally set up by Almond’s 1982 World Cup teammate Steve Sumner who passed away after a battle with prostate cancer in 2017. Before his passing Sumner asked Almond to kick start The Centre Circle, which aims to raise funds for football in the Canterbury region. Open letter to Adams: Where were you? DEAR STEVE I hope this finds you well. I trust you’ve enjoyed your time at home over the past few months making many kids’ days during the basketball roadshows you’ve been doing around the country. Steve, I have to report that times as a New Zealand basketball fan have been frustrating of late . . . I’m sure you’re aware our beloved Tall Blacks came agonisingly close to once again punching above their weight and qualifying for the top-16 of the World Cup. Did you see old mate Corey Webster absolutely shooting the lights out in the opening pool play stage? He was on fire, arguably the hottest guard at the competition and with some support could have shot us to victory over the likes of Brazil and Greece. The guy was the top scorer through the opening pool play stage. He wasn’t throwing up shots galore like James Harden either, the guy also had the best efficiency rating. Unfortunately though it was the same old story as years gone by. We’ve really lacked size and class on the inside. You see One-eyed Cantab Gordon Findlater gordon.findlater@starmedia.kiwi Steve, we’ve got some genuinely good guards and wing men, but we just don’t have a big guy that can compete with what the other top international sides have at their disposal. I hope you didn’t see too much of Rob Loe’s performances, they would have been punishing for you to witness. I lost count of how many times he turned the ball over and got out-muscled for rebounds. Unfortunately, Alex Pledger doesn’t seem to be the answer either. The guy has size, but just looks out of his league at World Cup level. What’s the answer Steve? I know what you’d say: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a true 7ft athletic big man who could control the paint and stop us from leaking offensive rebounds?’ How good would it be to have an NBA star like our opening pool play opponents Brazil, Montenegro and Greece. One day Steve, one day, New Zealand will produce a world class centre and finally we will be able to genuinely compete for a medal and eclipse the amazing efforts of our 2002 side. I hope you’re there to see it Steve.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Thursday September 12 2019 The Star SPORT 41 WC players you may recognise When the Rugby World Cup kicks off on September 20 there will be a strong Canterbury presence at the tournament – and not just with the All Blacks. Sports reporter Gordon Findlater takes a look at the players from and with links to here who are set to turn out for other nations in Japan Scotland •Sean Maitland – Maitland made 54 appearances for the Crusaders between 2008 and 2012. His best season came on the wing in 2011. He scored nine tries to help the Crusaders to the final before falling to the Reds. Maitland played 45 games for Canterbury before joining Glasgow. Now at Saracens, he is coming off a club season to remember, winning the European Cup and Premiership. He made his Scotland debut in 2013 and has 30 caps. •Simon Berghan – Born in Christchurch, Berghan played for the Shirley Boys’ High first XV and the Sydenham premier side. The tight-head prop was part of the Crusaders development squad before shifting to Scotland and joining Edinburgh in 2014. He made his Scotland debut in 2017. •Other notables – Simon Berghan Finn Russell, Grant Gilchrist and Johnny Gray were all in the Canterbury international high performance unit as part of Scotland’s John Macphail Scholarship, which sent emerging players to Christchurch from 2005-2017. Tonga •Siua Maile – The Shirley hooker grew up in Tonga. He moved to New Zealand in 2014 and took a scholarship at Timaru Boys’ High, where he played as a loose forward in the first XV. The Christchurch roofer was instrumental in helping Shirley reach the premier metro competition semi-final. •Paul Ngauamo – The 29-year-old hooker was in the Christchurch Boys’ High first XV. He was also part of the New Zealand under-20 side which Sean Maitland won the 2010 Junior World Championship. Ngauamo played for Sydenham and made 11 appearances for Canterbury from 2010-2011. In 2014 he moved to France to play professionally. •Nasi Manu – Another CBHS product, Manu’s incredible size and power saw him dominate first XV rugby. The No 8 was part of the New Zealand under-20 side which won the 2008 Junior World Championship. The 31-year-old played 76 games for Canterbury from 2007-2014. He also played 16 games for the Crusaders, but is best remembered in Super Rugby for his Nasi Manu time at the Highlanders, which saw him make 65 appearances and captain them to the 2015 title. Manu moved to Europe following the title. Last year he was diagnosed with testicular cancer while in Italy playing for Benetton Treviso. He found out he was cancer-free in June. Japan •Luke Thompson – The lock is set to appear in his fourth Rugby World Cup for Japan at the age of 38. Growing up in Christchurch, Thompson played for the St Bede’s College first XV in the late 1990s and went on to play two games for Canterbury in 2003. However, with no shortage of locks in Canterbury at the time, Thompson took his talents to the Sanyo Wild Knights in 2004. In 2007, he qualified for Japan through residency and has since gone on to play more than 60 games. He is the brother of former Silver Ferns and Tactix player Anna Thompson. •Michael Leitch – The Japanese captain grew up in Christchurch and played for Michael Leitch Belfast and St Bede’s. The loose forward moved to Japan at 15. In 2008, he captained them at the Junior World Championship and became a Japanese citizen in 2013. Leitch has gone on to play more than 50 games for the national side. He was appointed captain by Eddie Jones in April 2014. Uruguay •Alejandro Nieta-Serra – The prop attended the St Bede’s international rugby programme as a back-rower. He played a number of games for the second XV in 2006 and made one appearance for the first XV. This will be Nieta-Serra’s second World Cup with Uruguay. Wales •Josh Navidi – The loose forward was part of the St Bede’s first XV for two years while at its international rugby programme. Navidi helped the side win the Press Cup in 2008 and recently revealed he came close to signing a contract with the Canterbury academy. He recently captained Wales against Ireland and was Welsh player of the year in 2017. Samoa •Kieron Fonotia – The former Shirley Boys’ High and New Brighton midfielder played 30 games for the Crusaders from 2014-2016 before joining Welsh club Ospreys. Fonotia is eligible to play for the Manu through his grandfather, who was born in Samoa. He made his Samoa debut in 2017 and has become a regular selection. •Michael Ala’alatoa – Since moving to Christchurch in 2016, the Sydney-born prop has gone on to play 61 games for the Crusaders and play a role in their three-peat of Super Rugby titles. Josh Navidi Kieron Fonotia The 28-year-old is the brother of Wallabies prop Allan Ala’alatoa. Their father Vili played for Samoa at the 1991 World Cup. England •Willi Heinz – The former Crusaders halfback is best remembered here for his decision to make two consecutive box kicks – one of which went out on the full outside of his own 22 – in the last stages of the 2014 Super Rugby final. They all but handed the Waratahs the title. Heinz played 58 games for the Crusaders from 2010-2015 and 52 for Canterbury. The 32-year-old moved to Gloucester in 2015 and recently made his England debut. Fiji •Ben Volavola – The first-five/fullback signed with the Crusaders following the departure of Dan Carter after the 2015 World Cup. Volavola played seven games for the Crusaders and as many for Canterbury, but was unable to live up to his hype in red and black. The Sydney-born 28-yearold is now ironically once again filling a void left by Carter at Racing 92 in France. 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Shout prices run from Monday 2nd September until Sunday 15th September 2019 or while stocks last. Collect Fly Buys or Airpoints for every $20 spent.
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