The Englishman captaining New Zealand’s top Super Rugby side

The path from New Zealand to Britain and Ireland is a well trodden one for professional rugby players. Whatever the motivation – more game time, the discovery of an ancestor that might allow a shot at international rugby – there have been a host of Kiwis arriving on these shores in recent years.

It is far less common to see someone make the opposite journey, which is why when Chiefs captain Matt Symons opened his mouth to speak at the press conference in the aftermath of his side’s win over the Blues and an English accent came out, there were some bemused onlookers.

How did the 25 year old end up captaining a side that contained the likes of All Blacks Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Cane, then? His route to the top was far from conventional. He was let go from the Saracens academy at the age of 17, whereupon he was picked up by the GB rowing team’s talent scouts.

A brief spell in their intense programme added muscle and sky-high fitness levels to his repertoire, and he returned to rugby with National One side Esher. But with little prospect of Premiership rugby on the horizon, he decided to take a punt and join his brother playing amateur rugby in New Zealand.

Fast forward three years, and Symons has a couple of seasons in the ITM Cup with Canterbury under his belt, and finds himself packing down next to World Rugby Player of the year Brodie Retallick on a regular basis for the Chiefs.

He has much to thank New Zealand for, and with an ironic twist that has not escaped him, he will become eligible to play for the All Blacks later this year, in time for the World Cup. The World Champions are hardly short of quality locks, but with a spate of injuries never out of the question, it is a decision Symons has been mulling over.

“I am in the process of thinking about it, but no decisions have been made at the moment,” he said in an interview with the Telegraph. He admits that he feels increasingly like a New Zealander. “I guess it doesn’t feel like I am an Englishman because I am part of the team. It is kind of weird when you think about it from the outside where I was and where I am now.”

He has more praise for the Kiwi way of allowing talent to flourish well into a player’s twenties, an area where the English game, with so much focus on the academy system, can occasionally fall down. Symons is walking proof of that.

“I am a big supporter of the late developers,” he said. “There are a lot of kids out there who are in a similar situation to me. English clubs put a lot of money and time into their academy players and many of them come through very well but there has to be opportunities for guys who do develop later.

“I think New Zealand caters well for both: they find talent early through their age-group and their schools programmes but there are opportunities for guys who take the hard road who were maybe studying or doing something else but want to give it another crack.”

In yet another twist, Symons could find himself plying his trade in the Aviva Premiership soon after all. The Chiefs’ forwards coach, Tom Coventry, will take over at London Irish next season, and is keen to bring the lock with him. He would be a fine addition to a squad that has already been bolstered impressively in the off season.

Whether international recognition comes his way or not, for now Symons is happy where he is, continuing to learn from the best.

“What people would be amazed by is the humility of top rugby players over here,” he said. “I know it is often spoken about the New Zealand players being really humble and hard working, but that really is the case.

“Sonny [Bill Williams] is there first and leaves last pretty much every day. He is very studious. All the All Black boys are really down to earth, work really hard and no hint of an ego. I find that really inspiring.”