No regrets, but Tamou expects some heat
Related coverage
Kangaroos debutant James Tamou says he will never regret his decision to wear the green and gold, despite already copping some criticism for turning his back on New Zealand.
New Zealand-born Tamou officially pledged his allegiance to Australia and NSW last week, immediately raising the ire of those across the Tasman.
But the idea to represent the Blues was first planted in Tamou’s head by coach Ricky Stuart last year.
And he admits it ignited a fire in him which burned even as he was selected in the New Zealand Four Nations train-on squad.
“Last year when Stuart gave me a ring (to inquire about Tamou’s Origin availability), I said no,” Tamou said.
“Then I watched Origin last year and was thinking to myself ‘geez, that could be me’. And that’s where the flame ignited.
“And the flame was still there heading into the last stages of the NRL.
“It’s always been there and as soon as Stuart gave me that second phone call (this year), I knew what I wanted to do and I knew I was keen to do it.
“… when I made that train-on squad, it was still in my head. Now that I’ve made the decision, I’m happy with my decision. I’m not looking back at all.”
And while he knows he’ll come in for some special attention from the fearsome pack led by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Frank Pritchard, the monster prop says he is ready to take the Kiwis – and the Haka – front on.
“It will be tough. But I know I’m ready,” he said on Monday.
“I’ve had this situation in my head and I know I’ll be ready to take the Kiwi boys on. I know I’ll do the green and gold proud.”
Traditionally, New Zealand teams and fans have shown little sympathy towards those who defect to play for other nations, regardless of the circumstances.
Former Queensland fullback Karmichael Hunt, born in Auckland, felt the full force of Pritchard’s shoulder on his Australian debut in 2006 in an incident that forced the then 19-year-old from the field on a stretcher.
“I saw that from Pritchard. I’m expecting the same, about five or six black jumpers rushing up on me,” Tamou said.
© AAP 2013Looking to join The Roar team? We're searching for an experienced Group Sales Manager to lead our team in Sydney. Yes, this does mean you get to work with the site all day long! If you're a digital media sales star, we want to hear from you. Apply now.
The Crowd Says (7) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- James Tamou, Kangaroos, NRL, Rugby League
April 18th 2012 @ 9:28am
oikee said | April 18th 2012 @ 9:28am | Report comment
Good for you James, and i hope more Kiwis swap and show this commission just how useless they really are, they never thought this trough, and it will take more than just one change to fix Origin and the international eligibilty rules.
The whole system needs to be completely overhauled, or, if you really want to make it better, introduce a exiles game, this would allow for any other decent players from anywhere to play in a 3 way origin duel. They will represent the rest, so NZ, the Islands, overseas players, Victorians and West Aussies, even Torrians and PNG.
Sometimes improving a product is better than trying to fix a old broken down no longer valid in our modern world product which is Origin.
Now, i have shown you how to fix the problem, can we have someone to act on this please.
April 18th 2012 @ 9:39am
Go warriors said | April 18th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Oikee maybe NZs version of origin could be NZ heritage eg maori, european against a pacific heritage Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands, PNG etc. This would make for a cracking game and would also help out the pacific islands. Anyway just a thought.
April 18th 2012 @ 10:44am
oikee said | April 18th 2012 @ 10:44am | Report comment
I seen what they want to do, Auckland verse the rest. ?
This is hopeless, it would be a weak watered down vesion of Orign and i would give it 2 years before it died a lonely death. God please help me, make this game listen to common sense. I give up.
April 18th 2012 @ 1:22pm
steve b said | April 18th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
Its not hard it should be where you started your jnr footy ( reg of cause ) thats the end of it no more argument !
April 18th 2012 @ 10:22pm
Lippy said | April 18th 2012 @ 10:22pm | Report comment
State of O had a starting point and there were many pessimists then too Okie.
Australians hope like hell a NZ origin series would fail as if successful NZ league Will truly rival Australia.
Would Karmichael Hunt or Tamou for example have opted to play SOO if a NZ series was an option?
I think you underestimate the NZ sporting public
April 19th 2012 @ 8:54pm
gnads said | April 19th 2012 @ 8:54pm | Report comment
Brent Webb & Nathan Fien both born in Australia, played their first footy in Australia & their first senior footy in Australia both playing for NZ on spurious excuses. Gerard Beale is exactly the same.
So as far as Hunt & Tamou go in playing their first footy in Oz despite being born in NZ ….. it’s fair enough.
Otherwise if place of birth doesn’t count then it has to be where you were first registered to play junior & senior Rugby League.
End of ……
April 20th 2012 @ 4:27pm
Luc said | April 20th 2012 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
Like a lot of league fans I have been a bit perplexed by the vitriol directed at James Tamou. The “defections” of previous Australians choosing to play for NZ are many and well-known (Fien, Webb et al). The key difference, as far as I can see, with Tamou-gate, is that Tamou is a player obviously sought, and highly valued, by both sides. i.e – he has the potential to be an automatic selection for both the Kangaroos and the Kiwis for many years to come. This, of course, contrasts with Fien, Webb, Nightingale, Covell who would never be seriously considered for Kangaroo selection. I can’t recall any outrage when those players chose to play for NZ as they were not considered a loss of any long-term value.
The whole issue of identity and what it means to be a Kiwi or an Aussie has also been lost in all of this. I’m confused as to why, back in 2006, Sydney-born and bred Frank Pritchard would take umbrage at NZ-born Karmichael Hunt’s decision to play in the green and gold. Surely a player who views his identity as being aligned with a country he was NOT born in should be sympathetic to another player who sees his identity as being, surprise surprise, aligned with a country he was not born in. Players taking that moral high ground are being quite hypcritical. I may need that part of the NZ mentality explained to me. I don’t recall any outrage when Chris Heighington or Jack Reed announced they would be playing for England….
It seems a bit strange that league fans are playing Identity Police, when the issue of identity is an intensely personal one. All we need to do to avoid this in the future is a system whereby the first contract signed mst include a clause whereby one’s national allegiance is settled. This would then be submitted to all national rugbyl league bodies for sign-off. if there was a dispute it would then go to the International body whose decision would be final. By doing it at the outset of a player’s career, before he has established himself and become valuable (both in playing and dollar terms) means the national bodies decision would be impartial and not based on self-interest.