I’m definitely the weird one when it comes to stuff like this, but it’s crazy to me how often players make mistakes like this when narrating their own lives. Another example is that I’ve always been interested in the progress of SBW’s career from leaving NZ to playing first grade, so I read his book - and there’s no coherent or consistent narrative of when things happened, what year it was, how old he was etc.
With SJ I find it staggering he could make that mistake given he aged out of under-20s and was playing NSW Cup that year because he was too old. How could he possibly have forgotten that?
Agreed. He should've made first grade a lot earlier than he did, but I just watched Ivan on Once a Warrior and he said he wasn't ready. It must have been an attitude thing. In the end it looks to be the difference between him playing 300 games or not. He ends 32 games short of that mark.
I also read SBW's book. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. For those of you who haven't read it, this is basically how it goes:
Growing up in Auckland
I'm a fair skinned samoan
The Dogs/Party days
The walkout
Alhamdulillah
All Blacks
All Blacks
All Blacks
I'm a half-caste Samoan
Inshallah
Roosters
Roosters
Roosters
Me, the light-skinned Samoan
All Blacks
All Blacks
All Blacks
Alhamdulillah
Inshallah I'm a fair-skinned samoan pasifika man
Barely a mention of playing for the Kiwis at all! I was thoroughly annoyed by that. He didn't say a single word about the 2013 World Cup, and how he controversially (although correctly) took Tohu's spot which was a huge talking point at the time. Only his brother mentioned that tournament in the part he wrote. And of course he had to go get Allan Duff to write it, who's a fiction author.
I did enjoy that story he told about a Wahs player snobbing him while riding the stationary bike though lol. Any idea who it is? I was thinking Vinnie Anderson maybe.