Ethan de Groot was far from impressed.
When the All Blacks squad to take on Ireland in July was named, and his was missing, the message from the coaches was that he wasn’t fit enough for international rugby.
“I was a bit shocked by that,” the 24-year-old southerner says. He had played four tests last year and felt he knew what was needed - and that he was on track.
“I thought I’d been putting in the work but they obviously saw things differently. It did light a bit of a fire in the belly.”
But de Groot wasn’t about to make a big fuss. Quietly, pretty much on his own, he set about getting fitter, shedding
