Janet Jackson, Katie Perry, the Rolling Stones and… Counties Manukau Rugby?
Believe it or not, linking them together is a Patumāhoe local who literally came back from the dead and is now about to lead his province in one of sport's great comeback stories.
Reon Graham has roots firmly sown in the soil of Counties rugby as one of the most successful coaches in the club scene.
Graham told 1News Manukau has always been home.
“I was born in the local Pukekohe hospital, four days apart from my wife so we're both locals,” Graham said.
“We looked at moving away a few times but all our family is here and all our kids are here so wouldn't go anywhere else really.”
But all of that vanished for a moment when Graham died on the training pitch in front of his players in 2012.
“They sort of saw my lying there,” he said.
“I was lucky that a couple of the boys responded really quickly with CPR.”
One player ran to the volunteer fire station and grabbed a defibrillator before emergency services arrived.
“More shocks in the ambulance - they reckon about 10 or 12 minutes or something before they got me back.”
Graham said he’s alive thanks to two open heart surgeries, a defibrillator implant that's been triggered twice and the players who were that fateful day.
“If it wasn't for all these people around and the way that it happens I wouldn't see my grandkids growing up. I wouldn't see my daughters get married and all those milestones.”
Ten years on, Graham is set to make milestones of his own too with the long-serving Patumāhoe coach taking over Counties Manukau's NPC team.
The appointment is being viewed as a nod to all grassroots coaches at a time many jobs are going to former big name players with little experience – although Graham’s experience is unlike anything the NPC has ever seen.
“I've worked in the music industry for thirty years now,” he said.
The Universal Music sales director has hung out with the likes of MC Hammer, the Beastie Boys, Ben Harper and more.
“I started off selling records and a few CDs and 30 years later I'm selling records and a few CDs.”
Throw in a stint with the Croatian sevens team and it's clear this is not your everyday coach.
“All my experiences through dying and all of that I suppose, I'm just lucky to be here to give it a crack.”
His wife Steph said she’s proud to see him making the most of his second shot.
“My grandfather coached Counties many years ago and my father was a counties player,” she said.
“He passed away about 14 months ago and he would just, I so wish he was here to see him - it's in our family, Counties blood.”
Counties blood pumped by the still-beating heart of Reon Graham.
SHARE ME