Luke Romano has revealed he was “nervous” about joining the Blues after 12 years at the Crusaders and had to think about the move for two months before signing the contract that has transformed his career.
The rugged lock, a 31-test All Black, played only two matches off the reserves bench for the Crusaders last year and wasn’t offered a contract by the red and blacks for this season, with coach Scott Robertson preferring young prospect Zack Gallagher.
The Crusaders already had All Blacks Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett, as well as Quinten Strange and Mitchell Dunshea as second-row options, which made Romano at first under-used and then effectively redundant.
But since his arrival in Auckland, Romano, aged 36 and with 136 games for the Crusaders under his belt, has made his presence felt by playing in five of the Blues’ six matches.
He also captained the team against Moana Pasifika at Mount Smart Stadium as the Blues have continued a good run of form under coach Leon MacDonald this year, winning all but one game.
In an interview with 1News, Romano spoke about his decision to join the Blues and how he was feeling about an on-field reunion against his old mates in Christchurch. He and the Blues were denied that in round five when the match was postponed due to Covid, but, after they play the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday they’ll make the trip south for what looms as an important clash for both sides on April 15.
“I’m really enjoying my time up here,” Romano said. “It’s certainly different to the environments that I’ve come from. But change is good. I was a little bit nervous about it. The boys have been so welcoming. And just the goal of the club – to be the best, and you can see that they’ve got the drive to get to the top and that’s awesome to be part of.
“The whole nervousness was because it was so far out of my comfort zone – to leave the Crusaders. But once I got up here, the boys were so great and I settled in. We’re all here for the same reason.
“It’s different – the way they train, the way the weeks are structured… it’s been refreshing. It’s just a different environment. One isn’t necessarily better than the other. The Blues are driven to be the best and they want to reach that pinnacle of winning Super Rugby. They obviously had a taste of success last year with the Trans-Tasman and … that’s awesome to be a part of. We’ve obviously started well and that’s something we want to keep building.”
Romano was at pains to point out he was thinking only about this week and the clash against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato, but a looming trip to Christchurch must be at the back of his mind.
He said he felt no bitterness about the way his time at the Crusaders ended.
“That’s the nature of pro rugby,” he said. “It’s a professional business. My time had come to an end there. I’d been there for 12 years. I owe them a lot because it was through the Crusaders that I established myself. I became an All Black, I was able to win Super Rugby titles, I made some lifelong mates that I played with there and are still playing there.
“They’ve got to look to the future for their team and they decided they wanted to go with a younger lock and my time was done there but I don’t harbour any grudges because I understand the business.
“I needed to look after myself and my family and [coach] Leon [MacDonald] came calling. It certainly wasn’t a fast decision – it took a couple of months to get to the end result. That’s the nature of pro sport and you see it all around the world – the NFL, the NBA, the EPL, players move around, teams move players around, and it’s no different in Super Rugby.”
And yet, Romano has built a reputation as being no nonsense off the field as well as on it – assistant coach Tom Coventry has said Romano can be a little gruff at times on the training pitch. Blues’ and Crusaders’ fans alike will view the upcoming clash between two old rivals with extra anticipation to see whether there’s a little extra spite in Romano’s ball carrying and defence.
“It’s obviously a big challenge because the Crusaders have been the benchmark of the competition,” Romano said.
“I’ve played against them nearly every single week over my career because when you’re not starting you’re running as opposition at trainings. I sort of know what to expect, but at the end of the day it’s a game of footy – I just happen to know the opposition really well.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it – obviously we have to focus on the Chiefs first because that will be a big challenge.”
After last year’s relatively light workload in Christchurch, Romano said his body was holding up well to his vastly different schedule, but noted the Blues also have the luxury of some very good players coming through.
Romano has added vast experience to their locking stocks, but the Blues already have quality in Josh Goodhue and Sam Darry, the latter a 21-year-old who made the move from Christchurch for the start of last season.
“We have the luxury of depth. Leon was able to rest a few players from that Highlanders game [before the two recent matches against Moana Pasifika] and give some other guys an opportunity.
A lot of those guys who came in really put their hands up - they were fizzing to play for the Blues. I think we had four debutants and guys who hadn’t had a start and they really performed. They put their hands up to be included again on the Saturday. When you have that depth, it puts pressure on other guys and that competition within the squad just makes the team better.
“A guy like Sam Darry, he played all three games and played some big minutes in all of them. As a young fella being able to do that showed some real ticker and determination. He put out three really good performances.”
The Blues have dropped only one game this year, with the narrow loss to the Hurricanes in round one coming when they had the win all but sealed. Romano, who has signed a one-year deal, is determined to ensure they maintain their run in order to qualify for home play-off games.
It may be that the Blues, after years of under-performing, have stumbled on to a missing piece of the puzzle – a grizzled lock who won’t accept second-best and possibly with a point or two to prove.
Certainly, the man proven to be a crack shot with a hunting rifle in the wilds of the South Island made that abundantly clear when asked if he’d had a chance to go bush in the north.
“I’m up here to play rugby, not to go hunting. You might only get one crack at winning a Super Rugby title so you want to make the most of it. I’m a competitor. I want to win.”
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