JASON EATON HUNGRY FOR TEST CAPS.
Jason Eaton came from total obscurity to All Black fame in 2005 and looked a certainty to make the World Cup squad until he injured his knee in April. It kept him out of the game for nine months, time in which he says he came to realise he loves being a professional player and how lucky he is. With that attitude and locking stocks thin once again, New Zealanders are hoping the 25-year-old will fulfil his enormous potential.
Monday, 05 May 2008
JASON EATON didn’t watch. As the All Blacks crashed out of the Rugby World Cup in Cardiff, the Taranaki lock who should have been with them was fast asleep in an Auckland hotel room.
Who could blame him?
Six months earlier Eaton had been dreaming of wearing the black jersey in France, a player with 10 tests to his name since his debut against Ireland in 2005, and seemingly destined for great things at the 2007 World Cup.
Instead, the 25-year-old found himself hobbled, his left knee wrecked playing for the Hurricanes against the Highlanders on April 30 last year in a tackle that ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament and ended his World Cup before it began. It would keep him off the rugby field for the next nine months.
Eaton busied himself helping his Taranaki team in the Air New Zealand Cup, running water, mentoring young players and growing his hair and beard.
He was hiding his grief behind his growth, simmering at his loss, becoming a bitter recluse and watching his All Black team-mates in the World Cup quarter-final had simply been too painful, right?
It’s about there that Jason John Eaton scuttles my preconceived story about the heart-broken rugby player who had lived in purgatory for the past 10 months.
