Makos Player Profile - Shane Christie
This weekend our captain Shane Christie will play his Blazer Game (50th match) for the Tasman Makos.
Name: Shane Christie
Age: 29
Position: Flanker
Club: Nelson RFC (“tap, tap”)
Makos #: 82
Makos Caps: 49
50 Makos games coming up this weekend. What does being a Mako mean to you?
To me it’s all about the team environment and our Makos culture which is special. I like to see new players joining us, and the old heads helping them become better people on and off the field and going on in the game. It’s been enjoyable being a small underdog team that has worked our way up. And I like it that everyone in the organisation is passionate about the team, not just the players. Our supporters in the region are fantastic and becoming much more vocal in their support at our parks which really lifts the guys.
At what age and at what position did you first play rugby?
I was 7 years old and play first-five. But I wasn’t very good at 10.
Who was your biggest influence to become a better rugby player?
When I was about 21 a few things changed in my life and I decided to take my rugby more seriously. Lots of people influenced me from then at club and higher levels.
Who has been your biggest influence on life away from the game?
Early on I got a job in the building trade and I have to say that working for a living, and the guys I worked with, shaped my outlook on life. It makes me appreciate my life now as a rugby professional even more.
When did you realise you might be any good at the rugby?
I played for Buller when I was 24, came back to Nelson to play club rugby and made my Tasman Makos and NZ Sevens debuts in 2010. It dawned on me then that I might be going OK.
Who in the Makos gives you the biggest grief and why?
A lot of them do but Billy Guyton loves to chat. And chat. And chat.
Who do you like to give grief to and why?
Coach KK. As the captain I’m the link between the players and the coaching staff so we have lots of yarns. It’s not really grief, more just looking at things differently from the players perspective.
Name any player in world rugby who you would most like to be like and why?
Shane Grieve and James Foster, my NRFC club mates. These guys always played with great heart and passion and punched above their weight.
What is the one thing that people don’t know about you?
I’m a Champion Maori Surfer.
