All Blacks: Canterbury lock Sam Darry hopeful of making squad for Northern Tour
Canterbury lock Sam Darry is hoping a strong performance in Monday’s NPC final against Northland will help earn him a recall to the All Blacks for their upcoming Northern Tour to the United Kingdom.
Darry featured in four tests for the All Blacks this year, facing France and Italy in July before playing a prominent role on the Greatest Rivalry Tour, where he played two tests against the Springboks and three midweek matches, accumulating 361 minutes across the eight games in South Africa.
However, with former captain Scott Barrett returning to the test side, Darry missed out on the squad for the Bledisloe Cup series against Australia and was overlooked in favour of Jamie Hannah for the trip to Sydney, leaving him to refocus on his provincial campaign with Canterbury.
The 26-year-old will get one more opportunity to impress the selectors as Canterbury chase back-to-back NPC titles and the 16th in the province’s history.
The All Blacks are due to name their 36-man squad for the Northern Tour on Tuesday, and several players are under an injury cloud. The locking stocks are relatively healthy, with just Patrick Tuipulotu touch-and-go with a calf injury.
Darry admitted that missing out on the Bledisloe Cup squad was disappointing, but he had received clear feedback from the coaching staff about the areas of his game he needs to improve to earn another opportunity.
“It was disappointing [not being picked]. I really enjoyed the tour of South Africa, obviously some disappointing results.
“The coaches are awesome. They’re very good, clear communicators around what they want me to work on, and that was awesome, and they’ve been giving me some feedback along the way.
“It’s nothing too dissimilar that I haven’t been working on for a while, and just kind of keep chipping away.
“Still working away at it, and hopefully this weekend it can be something I add to my game.”
Darry has welcomed the chance to return to Canterbury, where he has been able to reconnect with family and friends while refocusing on his rugby.
“You’ve got to kind of turn your focus very quickly, and I know what I need to work on and I really enjoy coming back into this environment. It’s a place where I love coming.
“I’m staying at home with my parents, so it’s nice to see them as well and connect with some of my best mates. I’ve just really enjoyed the last few weeks, being into finals footy, it’s always good fun.”
With the All Blacks set to take an extended squad for their matches against Scotland, Wales, England and a yet-to-be-determined side, there could be opportunities for further depth in the locking stocks, depending on the fitness of players currently dealing with injuries.
Darry will be hoping to make the most of his final opportunity before the squad is named, with Canterbury hosting Northland in a rare Monday fixture at One NZ Stadium.
The match has been shifted to accommodate a busy sporting weekend in Christchurch, with a Rugby League World Cup double-header scheduled for Sunday and the Black Caps facing India in a T20 match at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
Darry is relishing the chance to play in the final, having missed last year’s victory over Otago while away on All Blacks duties.
“Last year was fortunate to go away on the end-of-year tour, but I guess the downside of that was that we missed the final,” he said.
“So watched that from afar and was cheering the boys home and loved seeing the result, but there was definitely a part of me that wished I was out there.”
Monday’s final also gives Canterbury an opportunity to respond after losing the Ranfurly Shield to Northland 36-12 earlier in the season.
It was a historic day for Northland, who had not beaten Canterbury since 1999 and had not held the Log o’ Wood since 1978.
Darry said Canterbury had plenty of motivation to make amends.
“As a team we’ve got a point to prove. We lost to these guys last time, lost the shield off them, so that’s kind of all I’m focused on really, is going out and doing what I can to help the team win.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for us and playing against some of my great mates as well who I play Super Rugby with, so really excited to go toe to toe with them, and I guess try and get one back after last time.”
While the immediate priority is helping Canterbury secure the NPC title, Darry has not lost sight of his longer-term ambition of returning to the All Blacks.
He said he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the national environment and was grateful for the opportunities he received towards the end of the South African tour.
“You’re always pretty stoked to be in the All Blacks environment, and I really enjoyed my time and was fortunate enough to get a few opportunities at the back end of that tour and absolutely loved it.
“The goal is to get back there at some stage and what have you, but obviously at the moment I’ve got an awesome opportunity, awesome occasion this weekend that I’m firmly focused on.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.