Andrew Mehrtens
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| Andrew Philip Mehrtens | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1973-04-28 | ||
| Place of birth | Durban, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.78 m | ||
| Weight | 89 kg | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Position | Fly-half (first five-eighth) | ||
| All Black No. | 944 | ||
| Professional clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2005- | NEC Harlequins | 19 | (210) |
| correct as of 21 Sept 2006. | |||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| 1993-2004 | Canterbury | 108 | (1056) |
| correct as of . | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| 1996-2005 | Crusaders | 87 | (981) |
| correct as of . | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| 1995-2005 | New Zealand | 70 | (967) |
| correct as of 21 Sept 2005. | |||
| Other Information | |||
| School attended | Christchurch Boys' High School | ||
| Notable relatives | Terry Mehrtens, George Mehrtens | ||
Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM (born 28 April 1973 in Durban, South Africa) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who has been one of the top fly-halves (or first five-eighths) in the world since the advent of the sport's professional era in the mid-1990s. He now plays in England for Harlequins, where in his first season he played a major factor in leading the freshly relegated club to an immediate return to the top-level Guinness Premiership.
Mehrtens' New Zealand parents lived in South Africa for four years from 1970 and returned to New Zealand when he was a young child. Mehrtens grew up in Christchurch, and attended Christchurch Boys' High School. After representing New Zealand at under-19 and under-21 levels, he received his first callup to the All Blacks in 1995. Mehrtens made an immediate impact, scoring 28 points against Canada in his Test debut; at that time, that was the highest point total ever by a player making his international debut. Mehrtens also featured in the infamous food-poisoned team that played in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa. Mehrtens came within inches of claiming victory for New Zealand, with a dropgoal attempt veering just wide of the posts at the end of regulation time.
Mehrtens is currently the all-time leading scorer for the All Blacks, with 967 points (all statistics as of 21 September 2005). He has scored 20 or more points in 13 separate Tests, has scored nine penalties in two separate Tests, and is the only player with more than 300 points in the Tri Nations Series. His 209 points against South Africa is the most ever by one player against one country; he also occupies second place on that list, with 202 against Australia. Mehrtens is also atop the all-time list for Test conversions, with 167. A supposed drop in form, combined with injuries, saw him miss out on the All Blacks World Cup squad in 2003. Critics of coach John Mitchell felt New Zealand's chances were dealt a blow without the choice of an experienced goal-kicker, an area in which New Zealand could not compete in the semi-final against Australia. Nonetheless, a strong 2004 Super 12 campaign saw him called back to the All Blacks. He was also not included in the 2005 All Black squad to face the British Lions.
He has also starred below international level. In Super 12, Mehrtens was a key member of the Crusaders side that won the competition four times in five years (1998-2000, 2002), and in 2005, another successful year for the Crusaders, he also played well, making regular appearances off the bench and starting in a few games. During 2005 he became that competition's leading all-time scorer. He was also on three NPC-winning Canterbury sides, in 1997, 2001 and 2004.
Mehrtens is generally considered to be somewhat of a liability in defence; however, he has more than compensated for any deficiencies in that area by having one of the best kicking games in world rugby, and possessing a developed tactical sense.
Andrew Mehrtens is correctly credited with remaking the Canterbury union a force in world rugby again after 9 years in the wilderness when in 1994 he generalled a young team who won the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato. Since that time Canterbury under his stewardship won the numerous Super 12 and NPC championships listed above together with rewinning the Ranfurly shield in 2000. Andrew won his way into the team having displaced firstly Peter Boyce (now NZ PwC partner) in Canterbury B then Greg Coffey in the Canterbury A team.
A lesser known fact is that Andrew was instrumental in training his ultimate Canterbury and All Blacks replacement 1st Five Daniel Carter, having trained him as a school boy in the DVD All Black coaching secrets. Like Andrew, Daniel was also a Christchurch Boy's High School old boy.
He also asked out Lucinda Neale once in Queenstown New Zealand, but was refused much to his brothers disgust.
Andrew Mehrtens' father Terry Mehrtens played rugby for the Junior All Blacks, Canterbury and Natal and his grandfather George Mehrtens was an All Black. Mehrtens was made a member of the Order of Merit in the New Zealand New Years Honours List for 2006.
More recently, Mehrtens has revealed that he has applied for a South African passport. In an interview with The Sunday Star-Times of Auckland, he said that he was doing so to take advantage of the fact that South African nationals are considered domestic players in English rugby. If his passport is approved, that would open up a spot on the Quins roster for another Southern Hemisphere player—widely rumoured to be Tana Umaga, recently retired from the All Blacks, although Mehrtens himself denied those rumours in the same interview.
[edit] External links
| Crusaders - 2002 Unbeaten Season - Super 12 Champions | ||
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1 Dave Hewett | 2 Mark Hammett | 3 Greg Somerville | 4 Chris Jack | 5 Norm Maxwell | 6 Reuben Thorne | 7 Richie McCaw | 8 Scott Robertson | 9 Justin Marshall | 10 Andrew Mehrtens | 11 Caleb Ralph | 12 Aaron Mauger | 13 Nathan Mauger | 14 Marika Vunibaka | 15 Leon MacDonald | 16 Greg Feek | 17 Corey Flynn | 18 Bradley Mika | 19 Sam Broomhall | 20 Ben Hurst | 21 Joe Maddock | 22 Ben Blair | Nick White | Johnny Leo’o | Mark Robinson | Coach Robbie Deans |
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