The ‘unreal knowledge’ All Blacks greats are imparting on the next generation

Crusaders youngster Jamie Hannah has heaped praise on the influence the All Blacks greats have had on his development.

Hannah was speaking about fellow second-rows Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett, who have been at the top of the game for a long time.

Whitelock recently departed the Christchurch-based franchise after becoming New Zealand’s most-capped player, overtaking Richie McCaw’s record.

Move to France

The 35-year-old has taken up a deal in the Top 14, joining his brother, Luke, at Pau, but Hannah still managed to learn plenty from the All Blacks legend when he was a team-mate.

Barrett, meanwhile, has remained at the Crusaders, which gives Hannah an excellent role model to learn from in Super Rugby Pacific this year.

“It was unreal. Just the knowledge you get off some of those older players like Whitelock and Scooter [Barrett] the last couple of years has been unreal,” he told Stuff.

“It just sets you up well if you do get a proper contract, so you know what you’re walking into.”

Hannah got his first taste of action in Super Rugby last season, making three appearances for the Christchurch side after an injury crisis at lock gave him his chance.

The 21-year-old has since signed his first full contract at the Crusaders and is now looking to be ready for the start of the campaign.

His difficulty has been increasing his weight so that he can overcome the challenges of playing at this level.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely struggled a bit. It’s just the amount you’ve got to eat to put that weight on when you’re doing a lot of training as well,” he said.

“Doing lots of weights and then just getting stuck into the tucker, eh.

”Running is definitely a little bit harder. But it’s just getting used to it. It definitely feels a bit better in the contact, so it’s worth it.”

Boss’ view

The lock sustained a shoulder injury last year, which kept him out of action for a while, but he has now fully recovered and is looking to make an impact in 2024.

Crusaders head coach Rob Penney, who has taken over from Scott Robertson, certainly rates the youngster’s natural ability and work ethic.

”He’s recovered really well from his shoulder operation, he just needs to be nurtured and needs to be given the opportunity to grow at his pace, there is certainly no lack of commitment and talent there,” Penney said.

“We just have to make sure we nurture it at the right time.”

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