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The Force is strong in SBW clone
- by: Jamie Pandaram
- From:The Sunday Telegraph
- September 09, 201212:00AM
Western Force signing Chris Tuatara-Morrison. Picture: Anthony Reginato Source: The Daily Telegraph
TWO young Kiwi league prospects with freakish off-loading ability sat side by side in the Bulldogs' locker room six years ago.
As Sonny Bill Williams went on to find fame, Chris Tuatara-Morrison worked on building sites dreaming of what could have been and cursing the opportunity he threw away.
In an intriguing twist, Williams went to union and won numerous trophies but will head back to the NRL next year, while Tuatara-Morrison has switched to rugby and just signed a two-year deal with the Western Force.
Tuatara-Morrison admits this is a second chance few people get, and he intends to make it count by claiming the Force's No. 12 jersey.
"I was 18 when I got signed by the Bulldogs, there I was with a locker next to Sonny Bill," Tuatara-Morrison, 25, said.
"I suddenly had all this money, was hanging around with my idols, and I just took it all for granted. I was drinking more than I was training hard.
"I wanted to have fun with mates, but as a professional athlete that doesn't mix."
After just two NRL games and a few off-field incidents, Tuatara-Morrison was released and fell into "dark times", living on pizza and booze, putting 18kg on his once-lean 100kg frame.
He credits two ex-girlfriends for pulling him out of the mental despair. Tuatara-Morrison found his way to Wests Tigers and then the Roosters, but serious foot injuries prevented him playing any first grade.
Following a failed stint in the UK, Tuatara-Morrison returned to take up a carpenter's apprenticeship.
"I really appreciated the opportunity I had at the Bulldogs when at 7am I'd be on a jack-hammer digging out a footing," he said.
"I'd sit there daydreaming of what could have been. The building industry is great, but I always wanted to be a professional football player."
Tuatara-Morrison thought he had his lifeline when Super League club Catalans made an offer, before his management at IMG convinced him to take the biggest gamble of his career and give rugby a shot.
This season he has been a revelation for Norths in the Shute Shield, with his off-loads causing havoc for opposition defences.
It convinced Force coaching director Michael Foley to sign him until 2014.
"It is the second chance I've been waiting for. It has come six years later, but to get a two-year deal with the Force is unbelievable," Tuatara-Morrison said. "If I play just one game of Super Rugby, I will be over the moon. It has been a long road back, one that I would not suggest anyone else to take. It's the hardest lesson I've had to learn."
The Norths centre, who lines up against Sydney University in today's Shute Shield semi-final at TG Millner Field, has had his fair share of road blocks.
He is the cousin of Temuera Morrison, who played Jake The Muss in Once Were Warriors and said his upbringing was not dissimilar to that in the movie.
"I have two uncles in jail, an aunty in jail, I could have easily gone the wrong way," he said.
"I have a few mates that I grew up with in jail. Growing up, I just had people around me who kids shouldn't really have as role models in their life."
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Originally Posted by Rex Messup
