Happy hooker prepares for 'family time' at Lansdowne Park

Rugby is definitely a family affair for Quentin MacDonald, especially when he comes "home" to Lansdowne Park.

Whenever the Tasman Makos hooker looks over his shoulder at training, or takes a peek at the bench during a match, his younger brother Jesse is there, the reserve hooker patiently waiting for a chance to step into his sibling's shoes. 

Earlier this year, he and partner Sophie Smith have created their own family, welcoming their first child, Charlie, into the world on March 21. When Tasman take on Manawatu in a national provincial championship match in Blenheim on Thursday, Charlie will be in the stands, providing added inspiration for her father on the ground where he has played so much of his rugby.

Also in attendance will be his parents, Paul and Karen MacDonald, plus assorted family and friends, the MacDonald cheer squad always out in force.

The 26 year-old is excited to be back in Blenheim this week. "I love playing at Lansdowne. I can't wait.

"My parents always sit at the same spot, my partner and grandparents are always there as well and the new addition will be at the game too. Having them all there changes things. This will be the first full game Charlie comes to in Blenheim."

The doting father is relishing parenthood and says he hasn't had to alter his lifestyle dramatically at this stage. "I change the odd nappy here and there, but don't have to do too much. I guess that will change as she gets older."

This will be the second season the MacDonald siblings have vied for the number two jersey and Quentin is fully aware of the challenge and skills his brother brings.

"He's coming alright, he tells me that every day. He's going really well, he's hungry for game time.

"It's a bit of a weird situation, both of us playing the same position. My parents aren't too worried, if I don't start Jesse starts, they are happy either way.

"It's just good having him in the environment. He's matured as a player since he joined the Makos … I don't want to give him too many chances though."

After producing three patchy pre-season efforts, the Makos have registered bonus point wins over Waikato and Bay of Plenty, without producing their best rugby. MacDonald is happy to bank the points, but knows there is work ahead.   

"On paper we have a pretty good team, especially with all that Super Rugby experience, but it's taken us a little bit of time to gel, get the chemistry right.

"I guess you would take 10 points from the first two games any day of the week, a few years ago we would have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for five, but we are always striving for that top performance.

"We've got a bit of a target on our back after last season … every team is going to get up for us, niggle us, do what they can to put us off our game, so we have to bring the right attitude.  We used to fly under the radar, a bit of an underdog, but that's changed. We have just got to get used to the transition.

"We have shown glimpses of what we can do, but we have let ourselves down with discipline and things like that. I think we are building well though."

Against Bay of Plenty the Makos scrum, with MacDonald at the core, produced some telling plays, shoving the Steamers off the ball on several occasions. The dominance up front played a major part in subduing a side that had earlier put the Makos off their game.

"They wanted to come down and put in some niggle, and that was evident throughout. We try and play positive rugby and they tried to get in our heads, which is fine, but it's hard to niggle when your scrum is going backwards. That was a real positive out of the game.

"The fact we have played together for quite a while now helps with our scrum and lineout, the combinations just slot back in. All the training and work we have put in over the past years comes to fruition when we start to get a bit tired. We've always got our guaranteed ball to fall back on."

MacDonald is relishing the opportunity to play Manawatu, the Turbos being promoted from the championship division last season, but the veteran of 70 Makos matches is wary of their abilities.

"They will be a pretty tough team. We didn't play them last year and that might have been a bit of a blessing because they knocked some good teams over. We'll definitely need to be on the job," he warned.