Mako mainstay hoping to fulfill Japanese commitments

Former Tasman Mako Captain Quinten Strange is hoping a freak incident won’t cost him his Japan rugby contract.

The lock is rehabbing after a serious injury cut short his season for the second year running.

The 29-year-old was taking the ball up in the 62nd minute, in the round 10 NPC match against Counties Manukau, when he fell suddenly to the ground.

“It was a grass cutter tackle and I landed on my right knee. My sprigs were caught in the turf and my left leg momentum carried on,” explains Quin from his Christchurch base.

That over extension left him with two big tears in his left hamstring and in agony, as he was eventually assisted from the field three minutes later.

At the time, it even prompted veteran rugby commentator Tony Johnson to suggest it could be career-ending for the 2023 All Blacks XV and New Zealand U20 representative.

While the tackler wasn’t penalised, Quin is still paying the price.

“The recovery period is expected to take four to five months. You can’t rush it. Fortunately, I am getting help from the Crusaders and New Zealand Rugby physios. I am walking again now and my days pretty much consist of rehab and going to the gym,” says the Takaka-born, former Nelson College 1st XV captain.

It continued his wretched run with injuries. In 2020 he was named in the All Blacks squad for the first time, only for an ankle problem to rule him out of the Rugby Championship. After leading the Mako to its history-making Ranfurly Shield victory last season, a pec muscle injury forced him off the pitch in the first defence against Wellington.

That led to four months rehab. “That was more straight forward than recovering from this hamstring injury. I am grateful for the support from my partner and friends.”

The rehab process for a hamstring injury is generally six to eight weeks, but given the severity it could take twice that long to recover and that has clouded his immediate rugby future.

Quin had signed to play for Japanese side Urayasu D-Rocks, coached by former England prop Graham Rowntree, and hopes he will still be able to keep “the gig”.

“The club has been really good about it. Pre-season has started and the competition is due to run until May.”

Do the math and it will be early next year before he can resume playing. Off contract at the Crusaders after nine years, he has no Plan B at this stage.

While he wasn’t intending to play for the Mako next season, the lineout specialist has unfinished business with the NPC side he debuted for in 2016.

“I am sitting on 85 games and would love to get to 100.” Especially after the disappointment of this season’s sixth-place finish. “We lost a few key forwards, especially loosies, and we were a bit lean. But the guys worked really hard and the end of the season results didn’t reflect that. We lost several games in the last 10 minutes,” concludes Quin, whose presence was really missed in the quarter-final exit against Bay of Plenty.