What happened to New Zealand's XV stars in the 2000s
New Zealand is undoubtedly the most feared and symbolic nation in the history of rugby union. Among the legendary players of the 2000s, some made very surprising re-conversions, while others stayed very close to the oval ball.
In various sports, there are some athletes who during their career reach legendary status, and this is the case with many New Zealand players in the 2000s. And this is what they have become.
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The All Blacks' golden generation
if All blacks She is an authority on modern rugby, and the jump to the year 2000 was very accurate. Between the 1999 and 2007 editions, New Zealand never reached the final, leaving Australia, England and South Africa to win the title. Worse still, in 2007, while they were favourites, Graham Henry's men didn't even reach the semi-finals. This does not prevent some players from shining as they do Richie McCaw, who would end his career by winning 22 titles, a record that remains unrivaled today. The Oceanian nation will recover to win the next two editions with a golden generation.
The former third row is also the new director of the New Zealand Football Association's commercial branch as well as a representative for the Selected Rugby Players Association. The reconversion is much less surprising than what happened Kevin Mealamo Who is in politics? He was elected to Papakura Local Council in 2019 and lost the Auckland local elections in 2022. At the same time, he has written books to raise money for a children's hospital in Auckland.
What happened to the stars of the 2000s?
Tana Umagawho played until 2005 with New Zealand, now coaches Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby but is also Samoa's defense coach at the 2023 World Cup. While some have stayed in rugby, others have moved away completely, such as Tony Woodcock Who runs his farm in Caucapakaba in his country. Note similar to Doug Howlett. After working as a Sales and Marketing Manager at Munster Rugby for 6 years, he returned to New Zealand with his family.
Finally, the illustration Dan CarterConsidered one of the best players of all time, he released a book “The Art of Winning: A Culture of Excellence in 10 Lessons” Posted by Murabit about retraining and how to achieve your goals. Former Racing player, retired in 2021He does not hesitate to appear in the rugby media scene to offer his opinion as well as valuable advice to his successors.
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