Meyer, Ward 'friendship' on back burner
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:09
Ben Meyer admits his friendship with London Wasps hooker Joe Ward played a big factor in persuading the Kiwi scrumhalf to join Edinburgh and sample European life and Northern Hemisphere rugby.
The 30-year-old moved to the Scottish capital from Counties Manukau over 12 months ago and he revealed one of the reasons behind the switch; positive feedback from old pal Ward.
Now the two friends are set to face each other during Edinburgh's first warm-up match of the new season - against English champions Wasps at Murrayfield on Saturday, August 23.
But Meyer says it won't be the first time he has locked horns with Ward because they have played against each other several times back in New Zealand.
Meyer said: "I've played against him before when he was at Marist and I was at North Shore; we won every time.
"He is a good bloke and he has been over in London for about three years now. We played together a lot for North Harbour.
"When he left North Harbour in 2005, he wasn't the only guy; there was about half-a-dozen who left the Union that year.
"I stuck around for another season back home, but having seen all these guys enjoying their rugby overseas I decided I wanted to do it as well.
"You hear all these positive stories from boys who have moved over to Europe and one of the attractions of being in the UK is that it so easy to get anywhere; in Edinburgh you are only an hour away from London and two hours away from mainland Europe.
"I've managed to go down and see Joe a couple of times and it was good to catch up with him. He is from Hawke's Bay and is an old school rugby player; he likes a laugh and a moustache."
After being named captain for the match against Ospreys in October, Meyer went onto become a key figure behind the scenes at Edinburgh last season helping Simon Cross with his club captain duties.
And the former Blues man says he is more than happy to contribute to the off-field activities of the team.
He added: "For me, whenever you join something new or start something you want to be able to walk away from it at the end and feel as though you've made a difference.
"Making a difference is not always about being the glory guy up there scoring winning tries, but it is often about working out behind the scenes and helping out others.
"Simon had a lot to do as club captain last season and I asked if I could help him about with things like the Christmas Party and day-to-day stuff. I enjoy helping people and making sure the processes get easier and more efficient.
"If anyone at the club needs a hand with anything then I'm always happy to help. I also help out on the social side and write the team newsletter once a month which the boys find pretty funny."
With thanks to edinburghrugby.org
