The Star: June 06, 2019

The Star Thursday June 6 2019
Greg Somerville was a
staple in the Crusaders’
front row for a decade.
But after his playing days,
he had to decide what
his next move would
be. Gordon Findlater
talks to him about going
into business after a
successful rugby career
LAST YEAR Greg Somerville
purchased Think Water
Marlborough – an irrigation
company established in 1996 at
the start of the grape planting
boom.
But outside of work, the
former tight head prop can be
found offering up scrummaging
tips at local rugby clubs. And
with many of his customers
being wineries, he has also
become partial to the odd bottle
of Marlborough sauvignon
blanc, even though he says he is
still very much a beer man.
“I’ve got a mate that owns a
craft brewery up in Auckland.
That’s one of my biggest things
I miss the most from up there
was the consistent flow of craft
beer I could get from him,” said
Somerville.
The 41-year-old racked up
115 appearances and nine tries
for the Crusaders between 1999
and 2008, winning Super Rugby
titles in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005,
2006 and 2008. He also earned
66 caps for the All Blacks.
Somerville grew up on a farm
near Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, and
got his first taste of rugby at
Taiho Primary School. He went
on to play first XV rugby for
Napier Boys’ High School.
Following school, Somerville
spent two years at Smedley
Station – a cadet training farm
which provides hands-on
agricultural skills for young
farmers. A pathway to the
Crusaders then popped up in his
home province.
“At the time, Wayne Smith
was the (chief executive) of
Hawkes Bay rugby. I played
some age group rugby there and
then Smithy went back down to
Christchurch and that’s when
Canterbury started to talk to me
about going down there,” said
Somerville.
He relocated to Christchurch
in 1998 and was one of the
first players to come out of the
Canterbury academy, which was
being run by Steve Hansen in its
early days.
“I wanted to go to Lincoln
to do a diploma in farm
management, so that whole
package tied in quite well,” he
said.
Somerville also played club
rugby for Lincoln University,
but says they were not as strong
as the current team which have
won the last four metro rugby
titles.
“We dominated the bottom
of the table when I was there.
Awesome club, but yeah, we
weren’t as successful as they are
now,” said Somerville.
Before becoming a Crusaders
regular, he spent a year living
in a flat with a group of Lincoln
students. He then moved
into a flat with his Crusaders
teammate Ben Hurst.
“As you can imagine, I was
trying to become a professional
rugby player and learning what
that was all about with sleep
patterns and nutrition and also
living student life . . . there was
a bit of a transition from being
a varsity student to being a
responsible professional,” said
Somerville.
He made what was at the time
a shock debut for Canterbury
in their 1998 NPC semi-final
loss to Waikato. Somerville and
Dave Hewett were given their
first starts for Canterbury in the
match. However, they looked
to catch Waikato off-guard by
keeping their selection secret
until the team sheets were
handed out just before kick-off.
news online at www.star.kiwi
Somerville’s new venture
NEW VENTURE: Greg Somerville
took over irrigation company, Think
Water Marlborough, last year.
•Over the Super Rugby season, The Star will look back each
week at some of the identities who graced the Crusaders
jersey in the past and discover where they are now
“We flew up under different
names and when we got into the
airport, we were whipped into
the Koru Lounge so no reporters
could see . . . Shag [Steve
Hansen] said not to tell anyone,
so I didn’t even tell mum or dad.
The morning of the game, he
asked if my parents were coming
to watch and I said no, because
you told me not to tell anyone
. . . he had a laugh and told me I
was an idiot,” said Somerville.
“We ran out and even the
commentators were thinking
who the heck is this?”
The following year, Somerville
made his Crusaders debut in
their opening match of the 1999
season against the Chiefs. He
went on to play all 13 games
that year, including their 24-19
win over the Highlanders at
Carisbrook in the final.
“We had to go to Brisbane and
we beat the Reds in the semifinal
after they had dominated
all year. To tip them over there
and then go down to Dunedin
and beat the Highlanders,
looking back it’s a pretty big
feat,” said Somerville.
“We were all mates at the end
of the day, so you got to live and
breathe going to work with your
mates, and we also enjoyed a lot
of time off the field together as
well.”
Throughout his career,
Somerville has had the
nickname Yoda among
his teammates due to his
resemblance to the Star Wars
character.
“Xavier Rush came up with
that when were at a New
Zealand colts camp . . . he must
have seen something, I definitely
don’t have any special powers or
forces,” he said.
Following his final year
with the Crusaders in 2008,
Somerville spent two seasons
with Gloucester in the English
Premiership. He then played
his last season of rugby with
the Melbourne Rebels during
their inaugural Super Rugby
campaign in 2011. Following
this, Somerville relocated to
Auckland.
“I tried a few things. I worked
for PGG Wrightson for a year
and dabbled in a wee bit of
coaching here and there as a
scrum coach for a number of
teams,” he said.
After moving to Marlborough
and spending time coaching
with the Tasman Mako’s in
2017, he purchased Think Water
Marlborough.
“I love it here and the smaller
town vibe . . . the outdoors and
ocean is here. Life’s easy in
terms of getting around,” said
Somerville.
“Doing business in a small
town is good. You get to interact
with a wide range of people, but
everyone’s still connected and
think local and support local.”
KEY MAN: Greg Somerville
was one of the first names
on the team sheet during
his time at the Crusaders.
SPORT 31
in brief
Top four finishes for
Canty basketballers
Two Canterbury basketball
teams finished in the top
four at the under-19 national
championships in Dunedin.
The under-19 men’s team were
unable to defend their title for
a third straight year, falling
to champions North Harbour
in the semi-final 78-100. The
side then rebounded to defeat
Wellington 61-67 and finish
third. Meanwhile, the under-17
girls team advanced to the
semi-finals before losing to
Waikato and Taranaki to finish
fourth. Canterbury players Tom
Webley and Helen Matthews
were both named in their
respective all-tournament teams.
West triumph over
East in league games
West took the honours 32-20
in the annual West v East
Canterbury Rugby League
fixture at Nga Puna Wai on
Monday. Hornby Panthers
forward Caius Faatili bagged a
double for West. Regan Stanton
(Hornby Panthers), Nick Evans
(Halswell Hornets), Tirikatene
Taiuru (Halswell Hornets)
and Zion Kamana (Riccarton
Knights) also scored for West.
The match was an opportunity
for players to press their case for
Canterbury Bulls selection later
in the year. West also took out
the inaugural women’s clash by
defeating East 38-12.
Volleyball medals
at national champs
Canterbury nabbed four medals
at the national provincial
volleyball championships in
Wellington over the weekend.
The under-21 men were crowned
champions after defeating
Harbour in straight sets 25-22,
25-21, 25-19. It was a remarkable
turnaround for the team after
losing to Harbour in straight
sets during pool play. The senior
men had to settle for silver after
being defeated by Harbour 25-
25, 25-18, 20-25, 19-25 in their
final. The senior women’s team
finished third after defeating
Waikato in straight sets in the
bronze medal match. They were
earlier defeated by champions
Harbour 21-25, 25-17, 16-25,
17-25 in the semi-final. The
under-17 girls team took silver
after going undefeated before
falling to Wellington in the final.
Chatham Cup fourth
round match-ups
The fourth round of the Chatham
Cup will see Mainland Premier
League powerhouse Cashmere
Technical host Canterbury
Championship League frontrunners
Christchurch United.
The other Mainland region
match will see Ferrymead Bays
travel to Nelson to face Nelson
Suburbs in an all-MPL affair.
The matches will take place
over the weekend of June 15-16.
Waimakiriri United will host
Coastal Spirit in the third round
of the Kate Sheppard Cup.