All Black Lord provides massive lift for Taumarunui

A once-in-a-decade opportunity provided itself to All Black Josh Lord last Saturday.

Thanks to some outstanding work from Coastal, his Taranaki club side, Taranaki Rugby Union, the Chiefs, Bush United and King Country Rugby, Lord was able to don the Taumarunui Districts colours at senior level for the first time.

Lord, who is making his way back from a serious knee injury suffered last year, was excited at the opportunity to turn out for his childhood club.

“It was nice to be home and play a bit of footy.

“Haven’t played for the club since junior footy,” he said.

Getting out there under his dad’s tutelage again was an honour.

“It was good; he didn’t say too much to me … he used to coach me in junior rugby, so to have him as coach again after 10 years was pretty cool.

“It is a few levels below what I am used to, but the passion is still there and it was great to play a bit of unstructured footy with some of the boys I haven’t seen in a long time.”

Lord is not one for scoring tries but managed to get his name on the scoresheet.

“I managed my first try in about three years. It was a little carry just before the line and I managed to sneak past and score under the posts, happy days.”

At 2.02 metres, Lord was easily the tallest on the park and super excited to be there.

“I was definitely happy to be out there. I played 40 in my first game, 60 in my second and 80 last week for Districts, so hopefully now I can be selected for the Chiefs this weekend.

“It’s nearly 11 months since I played for them, so it will be a long time coming but it’s just about getting out there and ripping in and playing consistent footy.”

He received plenty of stick from his Districts’ teammates ahead of his debut.

“Tyrone Beban gave me a bit of a chat at the start and Leveson Gower did too … they told me to just go out there and chuck the pill around. It was cool getting out there with some of the boys I went to school with and seeing them progress.”

Donning the Districts jumper is something Lord has been working on the past couple of seasons since dad Matt Lord took over the coaching role.

“I was pleased to have finally got out there. To tick it off now was great and things fell into place for it.

“Thanks to Coastal Rugby and Taranaki for it happening and King Country too.”

“Hopefully I might to be able to get a few more caps in the future. It’s something I would love to see happen a bit more. I know Tezzy [Cortez Ratima] is keen as to get out there for Piopio, so hopefully we can see a bit more of it.”

He said it was good to be part of a winning side.

“The guys played well, although it probably helped that the Bush boys had no subs. It was a bloody good day and nice to get back out on the domain, which was in great nick.

“I was trying to get Yahweh Jhanke to play me at number 8 a couple of times, but he was playing really good so I just stayed at lock.”

The 2023 Rugby World Cup in France is later in the year and like all Super Rugby Players in New Zealand, it’s definitely a goal.

“It’s in the back of my mind. I just want to focus on doing the main things well and if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world.”

Matt Lord said it was a special moment for the Lord family.

“It was a great day. Josh fitted in well and had a blast. We’re bloody proud of him and his journey so far and to have him come back and play a game for Districts was great for the area.

“I would love to see it happen a bit more. It’s something I don’t think happens enough and it would really lift the profile of club rugby.”

King Country Rugby Union general manager Kurt McQuilkin said having someone of Lord’s calibre play a game in the King Country competition was a real positive.

“It means a hell of a lot to have a recent All Black who grew up playing in our province return to play at senior level for his hometown club after cracking it as a professional player.

“I think it’s a win-win for all concerned and we would certainly be open for something like this to be replicated in the future. We were very lucky to have Sam Cane turn out for the TLC King Country Rams in 2021 in a Heartland Championship match at his own request, and Josh’s appearance at KCRU club level is the cherry on top.”

McQuilkin said Lord’s desire to return and don the Districts jumper showed he was a passionate King Country lad that wanted to come play some rugby where he was raised.

Lord has been named on the bench for the Chiefs to face the Drua this weekend, making his return to professional rugby.