BACK FROM THE DEAD
10 MANU'S MEDAL
Pauliasi Manu's career had twisted and turned in many unexpected directions before his almost entirely random call-up to the All Blacks' 2015 World Cup squad.
Manu had played for Auckland in 2008, but it took him three years to win a contract with the Blues. Once he got there, he was only given five games before he was let go by John Kirwan.
The Rebels picked him up but when he failed a medical, that deal was off and he was back to the 9-5 grind looking at taking up an offshore contract once his neck recovered.
But a reprieve came when the Chiefs lost Josh Hohneck for the season and Manu was drafted in March 2014, making an instant impression to the extent that when the All Blacks needed loosehead cover in the final week of the tournament, they sent for him.
He went from being unemployed to being with the All Blacks at the World Cup in 18 months.
The All Blacks had lost Tony Woodcock in the final pool game and called up Joe Moody. When Wyatt Crockett finally gave in to a groin injury, Manu arrived in London just three days before the final.
“It was a phone-call-today-fly-tomorrow kind of thing,” Manu said. “We had just finished Mitre 10 Cup at Counties. I had a couple of beers with the boys and I had to shoot off the next day. It was a good experience - to be a part of the winning team was awesome.”
He trained twice with the team and didn't play a single minute, but because he was an official member of the squad, he was given a World Cup medal.
“I have no idea,” he told the NZ Herald as to where his medal now is. “I think mum's got it somewhere. Or it might be in Tonga somewhere. I always give my achievements to her - my jerseys and so on.”
