Ex-All Blacks flanker embracing new role after the ‘wheels fell off’

After a 20-year career as a professional player, former All Blacks back-row Liam Messam is coming to terms with a major change in his life as he starts his new career as an ‘athlete development manager’.

It helps that the 39-year-old is in familiar surroundings at the Chiefs where he played most of his rugby and captained the team to Super Rugby titles in 20212 and 2013.

Position created specifically for Messam

The 2015 Rugby World Cup winner made a record 184 appearances for the Chiefs, and his new job at the Chiefs will see him focusing on off-field mentoring of players – a role created by the Hamilton-based franchise specifically for a man who is renowned for setting high standards.

The position is something that the Chiefs have been planning for a lengthy period and it came to fruition after they recently lost the services of legendary players like All Blacks trio Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick and Brad Weber.

As the athlete development manager, Messam will also be working with the Chiefs’ U20 players as well as their women’s squad during the 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season.

“For me, it’s just a blessing and a great opportunity to come back into the environment,” Messam told Stuff. “This is all I’ve known since I first moved up to Hamilton [from Rotorua]; it’s been my family for a long time now, so to be welcomed back with open arms, I have to make sure I make the most of it and leave a real positive impact.

“It’s a bit daunting when you retire and not knowing what you’re going to do… I still couldn’t decide to hang up the boots, I was still hanging on till the wheels fell off, and they slowly fell off.

“I might get a couple of club games in, but I just needed to decide when I was going to pull the pin, and when this offer came I thought it was a great opportunity to get stuck in. It took a lot of hard work, but I’m just really thankful to Donk [coach Clayton McMillan] and Wayne [Maher, the Chiefs’ general manager rugby] to give me this opportunity and see where we can go from there.”

Messam revealed that he is enjoying his new role at the Chiefs, although he is still adjusting to it.

‘In bed by 8 o’clock’

“On the contract, it’s 8.30am to 5pm, I know it’s not the ‘real world’, or ‘real life’, but I’m there Monday to Friday, and when I get home from work I’m pretty knackered and I’m in bed by 8 o’clock,” he said.

“I’m not used to it, trying to keep that level of concentration for the whole day.

“A lot of black coffee – I’m trying to take that out of my diet because it’s not that good for you – but just really enjoying coming into work, there’s a lot of coaches and management in this team that I’ve got a lot of respect for and spent a lot of time either playing with or working with, so it makes it a lot of fun, we take the mickey out of each other quite a bit.”

READ MORE: Ex-All Black stunned by new Crusaders ‘opportunity’ post-retirement