I reflect on Season 2  of TUTT including: - My network and the ability to get some legends to talk about their pathways to success in sport and also in life after in business. - The issue of life after sport for athletes is real.  I was able to talk to some players on my recent trip with the Classic All Blacks to Spain and there’s still the uncertainty for a few about what to do once they hang up the boots. - Those that had good guidance and advice from mentors were able to put things in...

What an honour to have the All Black and rugby great, Dan Carter on the podcast. Dan shared some insight into his time with the Blues and what he saw there and how he was able to add value to the young leadership  group which put improved habits into them and how they could best serve the wider group by walking towards those hard conversations. Dan talks about his time overseas and also lets us in on the culture changes in France and Japan that he came across.  Needing to integrate into the...

Great to chat with an old friend - it’s been a while. Kevie let us in on his motivation for the next stage of his life.  He’s getting into the ring for the first time.  Something he’s wanted to do for a long time and something he “didn’t want to die wondering about” or have any regrets about. We chat about the feelings he went through of being named in the All Blacks for the first time and where he was at the moment his name was announced. We discuss some moments we shared while being a part...

Hugely honoured to have the legendary Benji Marshall in his first-time as a guest on any podcast.   You soon see why Benji has turned to Television since retiring from Rugby league in 2021.  He is a natural storyteller and it was sound advice from Channel 9 that stopped him finishing his Media Communications Degree because it was changing him into something he wasn't and losing that cheeky personality.   He has also recently started on Celebrity Apprentice Australia. From the from small town...

Great to catch up and reminisce about old times with Rugby League Legend  Ruben Wiki. We talk about our early years in playing against each other for our childhood clubs, Ruben with Ōtāhuhu and myself with Wainuiomata and then together with the Junior Kiwis in 1992. He shares about signing with the Canberra Raiders and learning from some legends and immortals of the game like coach Tim Sheens and players Mal Meninga, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley, Bradley Clyde, Kevin and Steve Walters, Noa...

A great story that started at a young age.  Saia tells me that he signed with the Brumbies Academy at 14 years and 9 months old and was training with  Wallabies greats George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and George Smith. He lets us know how his Aboriginal mother and Tongan father met and married, then raised 5 boys while living in a pub.  He shares about how his mother was their nutritionist, taxi driver, and confidante even to this day and how his father helped the boys into their first...

Talking to former All White Jeremy Christie was a really refreshing chat, hearing about his journey from Whangarei and around the world to settling in Orlando, USA for the time being. He talks about growing up in Northland and playing soccer as a youngster, to moving to Auckland and into the football academy at Mount Albert Grammar school which was run by Rory Fallon, then, at the age of 16, traveling to England and signing with the Barnsley FC Academy with a couple of mates he’d played with...

It was great to connect with Charles again since the last time we talked was in my role as Blues Coach and having one last chat with him before he decided to back himself and go overseas to Wasps and Ulster in Europe. He shares about the decision-making process he went through.  The difficulties in leaving his comfort zone and support structures of family and the battle within, whether he stays in NZ and strives for the dream of playing at a World Cup or takes the challenge up of earning...

A very honest and open conversation with current NZ Netball Silver Fern and Auckland Mystic Captain Sulu Tone - Fitzpartick. It was great to hear her story of growth, resilience, determination, and discovery as she takes us through her journey.   Through her early years of becoming a professional netballer straight of high school as a teenager with huge potential and talent to taking the opportunity for granted and moving away from home to get more playing opportunities.  Then became a...

Great to catch up with Codie and hear him talk about his younger days and growing up in Australia.  Then returning to Levin, NZ before going off to Fielding High for his last years of school.  Going from Fielding into the Canterbury Academy, following a well-trodden path led by the Whitelock brothers.   He shares about the successful culture shift of the Crusaders from when he debuted in 2013 when they had some of the greats like Ritchie McCaw, Dan Carter and Kieran Read playing and under...

It's always good to catch up with Beaver and chat about old times and new.  We talk about his new business venture with a couple of old All Black and Chiefs team-mates, GRINS, and what the future holds for them. He shares his career-high, of kicking that winning kick in the 2011 Rugby World Cup after being called up from enjoying his off-season before taking a contract overseas.  He also shares the lows when he was widely criticized in his last game for the All Blacks.  He talks of his...

It's always good catching up with Sonny Bill and seeing what new ceilings have been broken in his life.  This time when we caught up he had just come off a 5-week training camp in Ireland and England with none other than the Heavy-Weight Champion in the world, Tyson Fury as well Kiwi Boxing greats Joseph Parker and David Nyika.  He lets us in on his time and the little challenge that Fury set him on the first day of training. He takes us back to the early days when he talks about his...

It's a huge honour to have on the show this week, Melodie Robinson. Mel played for the Black Ferns from 19996 to 2002 winning 2 World Cups and also represented the Black Ferns Sevens.  Not bad for someone that didn't start playing until she started attending Otago University. She lets us in on the story of how her coach in Otago picked the best position for her, to suit her naturally aggressive attitudes.  We hear how she has always been focused on what she wanted and determined to work...

It was great to catch up with my old friend Luch on the podcast and talk about his path from Tonga to New Zealand (Petone),  Hong Kong to Australia, and how his life took some unexpected turns along the way.   He shares how he first felt about NZ and some of his experiences at Wilford Primary School, St Bernard's College and going onto Massey University to finish a Bachelor of Business Studies degree. We hear how he ended up in Hong Kong and made the best of the situation going on to...

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has had a glittering career, winning a Rugby League Premiership with the Sydney Roosters plus many awards as an individual including the Dally M Fullback of the Year and the  Dally M Medal award, which is for the Best Player in the NRL. I find out that this is the first time Roger has been a guest on a Podcast and I'm truly honoured to have that mantle.  He shares his current situation with the Blues and the other NZ Super Rugby sides as they are in Queenstown preparing...

I always look forward to catching up with Eugene because I always learn something. Eugene started with kickboxing as a way to get fit for rugby when he played for the Massey Rugby Club, where his family has a long association.  He then decided to focus on kickboxing and mixed martial arts and had a successful career in the New Zealand local scene before starting up the City Kickboxing gym with a friend and turning to coach. City Kickboxing has grown on the worldwide stage and was crowned...

The last episode of TUTT for 2021.   It's been a roller coaster last few months after stepping away from The Blues to focus on our new health and wellbeing supplements company, Viktual+, with my wife Rochelle.    I'm on the other side of the podcast this week and am being interviewed by Merl Manueli, who has been doing our social media.  We chat about how life has been since I made my announcement that I was stepping away from rugby to the next day going into shock upon hearing that New...

It is always good to catch up with my close friend Bundee Aki about what's going on in life and rugby. We obviously chat about his recent game against the All Blacks and how he felt after the win and what the week leading up to the big game was like for him and the team.  It was his second win against the All Blacks in as many games.  We chat about his journey from the Patumahoe Rugby Club in Counties-Manukau to Connacht and he lets us in on the similarities between the provinces and what...

I catch up with Jonny after he's just landed on holiday outside of England, just got into his holiday home and he's made time to chat to me after 10 years.  I feel very honored!  (and also why our audio is not the best, sorry!) Jonny lets us in on his thoughts on a lot of topics and what comes through is his passion and convictions for what he believes, which have come from his own experiences on his journey from an 18-year-old kid who started at the Newcastle Falcons and loved throwing the...

I catch up with Luteru Ross Taylor.  He's sitting in another quarantine hotel, this time in India before the Black Caps test series, which starts this week.   He's a bit nervous as he hasn't hit a ball since he hit the winning runs against India in the World Test Championship in June, apart from some throw downs from his young son. We chat about our stories of cricket and our connection to my hometown of Wainuiomata.  He tells me about why he chose cricket over other sports and what he...

I got to catch up with Jerome  in between his busy schedule as new Defence and Breakdown Coach of the Toulouse Espoirs (Under 23’s) and Breakdown Coach of the reigning Top 14 Champions of French Rugby. We discuss his learnings as a player and the comparison of his years with the Blues and his instant success at Toulouse.   He shares some background on some of the up and coming young players from his club that are standing out now on the international stage for France. We chat about his...

I got to know Rob Kearney while I was in Ireland for some promotional work with Guinness. I hung out at the office of sports agent, Dave McHugh, who had leased his office from Rob.  When I started my podcast I knew I wanted to speak to this man. Rob lets us in on what it was like to be a part of the first Irish rugby team to beat the All Blacks, what it meant to him and the nation and what it will mean to those Irishmen who follow in his footsteps. A proud Leinster rugby man who spent 15...

I had the chance to chat with Stacey before she flew out with the Black Ferns on their end of year tour.  She shared the thrill of winning an Olympic Gold medal and Rugby World Cups with both 7's and 15's and also shared what she went through to get where she is today with the aroha and support from her whānau. Stacey shared some insights into the successful culture of the Black Ferns 7's team, how instrumental departing coach Alan Bunting has been and what it will take for his replacement...

I got to know Lee Byrne when he made the trip from Wales to New Zealand to pay his respects at All Black Legend, Jerry Collins' funeral.  Lee and JC became close while teammates at Ospreys Rugby Club in Wales. We celebrated JC's life and gave him the send-off he deserved.   Lee shares how he was "discovered" after playing a game of Rugby League and how that led to international stardom with Rugby Union.  He talks about his enjoyment for the game while playing in both Wales and France and...