A lot can happen in the space of a year. Fortunes can rise and fall. Yet few sportsmen will have experienced quite such a dramatic change in circumstances in so short a timeframe as Mike Stanley, the Samoa fly-half.
It is almost 12 months to the day that he was lining up for Southend to face London Wild Geese in the fourth tier of English rugby in front of a few dozen hardy souls at Sunbury. On Saturday, he is set to run out at Twickenham in front of 80,000 against England. That about-turn is the result of Stanley rediscovering a love of rugby, which he thought he had lost, at Southend’s Warners Bridge Park ground.
The Stanleys rival the Tuilagis for the ***le of Samoa’s premier rugby clan. His uncle, Joe, won the first World Cup with New Zealand in 1987 and two of his cousins also represented the All Blacks. Other cousins are playing in the NRL while his younger brother, Sam, is part of the England sevens set-up. "We have spoken about trying to put together a sevens team one day," Mike said. "We have got too many backs to field a XVs team." His father, Glenn, was also a handy rugby league player and moved to England 20 years ago soon after Mike was born in New Zealand. Mike grew up in Thurrock, attending Gable School in Essex and it soon became apparent that he had inherited the Stanley rugby genes. Stanley represented the England Under-16, 18 and 20 sides alongside such players as Ben Youngs and Freddie Burns. He was tipped for big things.
In 2008, Mike Hynard, the Saracens academy coach, said: "There are still things he needs to work on, but I see no reason why he can’t push Andy Farrell and Adam Powell for the inside-centre shirt in the senior squad next season."
Rugby World magazine predicted "He has the strength and skill to break into the Saracens side and beyond." However, that never happened. Stanley’s progress was partly derailed by a medial collateral ligament knee injury but also by a disillusionment in the treadmill nature of academy rugby. "To be honest I had fallen out of love with the game," Stanley said. "I didn’t want to train anymore. In England, it gets quite serious at quite a young age. You have a lot of kids coming through the academy so it is very competitive and I had forgotten that rugby was meant to be fun."
From Saracens to Southend might seem like quite a fall from grace, but for Stanley it served to reinvigorate his passion for rugby. "I had been on loan there and had quite a few friends playing there so it was a natural fit," Stanley said. "I was a lot more comfortable just playing rugby where you can enjoy it and having a laugh with my mates during and after the game. I rediscovered my love of the game."
Stanley finished his first season with 19 tries, their top scorer, and was clearly far too good for that level. Using his family connections in New Zealand, he decided to chance his arm again at top-flight rugby. After a season with Ponsonby in the Auckland league, Stanley was picked up by Counties Manukau, the ITM Cup side coached by Tana Umaga, the former All Blacks captain.
"I was 22 when I went down there so if it wasn’t going to happen then it was never going to happen," Stanley said. "That is why I took the leap and I have never regretted it. Having coaches like Tana has benefited me so much. They have helped to give me a different perspective and improved me as a player.
"There’s also a more relaxed environment over there; young players here have a lot on their plate. New Zealand is more chilled and they probably encourage a better, more entertaining style of rugby."
During the off season in New Zealand, Stanley would fly back to Essex and turn out for Southend, helping them to avoid relegation in the 2012-13 season. That routine was interrupted this year when he was called up by Samoa for their European tour. Stanley made his debut off the bench in their 24-13 defeat to Italy and was promoted to the No 10 shirt last week, kicking 13 points in Samoa’s 23-13 victory against Canada in Vannes, France.
"Those were really special moments to win your first cap and then to get your first start," Stanley said. "They were incredible experiences, but playing against England would be something else." Stanley is in competition with Tusi Pisi, elder sibling to the Northampton brothers, for the starting berth at Twickenham. Whoever gets the nod will face an unenviable task given the political wrangling that has gone on behind the scenes, but Stanley says it has brought the squad closer together.
"To be honest we are not trying to focus too much on England," Stanley said. "They are a class outfit but there’s a real sense of unity and the boys are looking to play for each other. It is quite a close-knit family in the Samoa set-up anyway. We are from all over the world but we share a culture that helps us to stick together."
Even in Stanley’s head, there is a pinch-yourself quality to his own story. There will be a contingent of former team-mates who will make the trip to Twickenham after Southend’s fixture against Old Elthamians, who will remind Stanley of just how far he has come.
"It’s quite surreal actually," Stanley said. "I can’t believe it myself. It would be such an honour to play at Twickenham and I’ll try to soak it all in without letting it overwhelm me, but I’ll never forget where I came from.
"You gain a very different perspective once you have played grassroots rugby. It grounds you and reminds you that you should play rugby because you enjoy it. That is what rugby should be all about."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ru...h-rugby-again-while-playing-for-Southend.html
First off, I'm sharing this cos its a lovely heart warming story and I reckon people wanna hear.
But secondly, there's a big and interesting criticism of youth rugby there that I feel might get people going. It's not the first time I've seen it suggested that England's academies could dial it down productively.
Thirdly, good piece of knowledge for next time people are doing "Dual qualified/Ones that got away" teams, England have been short a 10 who's not Matavesi (i.e. not that much a 10).
