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Brad Shields had played well enough for Wasps to earn England honours.
New Zealand rugby player Brad Shields remains “livid” at being made redundant at English club Wasps and has spoken about the challenges of having to reinvent himself in France.
Former Hurricanes and Wellington star Shields, who made the England test team under Eddie Jones, was a victim of the famous Wasps club going into administration and losing its Premiership status, forcing the 31-year-old to pick up a quick deal at Perpignan.
“It was carnage. Everything just happened so quickly. I remember the date: Monday October 17. It’s always going to stick in my head; the day we were told we had gone into administration. It was disbelief and shock … everything’s just ripped away at the click of your fingers,” Shields told the Daily Mail, saying the struggles hit more than just his job.
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“It’s not just the rugby, it’s your life. You commit everything to the club, put your kids in school, sort out healthcare. The more you look back on it, the resentment towards how it was handled … not just the club – Premiership Rugby, the RFU – how did it get to that?
“We were in the Premiership final in 2020 and two years later the club is no more. I still can’t compute that.”
Shields claimed he was still owed 17 days wages while other players were deeper out of pocket.
Stuff
Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields has confirmed his move to Britain, believing his new club Wasps will allow him to develop his robust playing style.
“There’s a fund there that should be mine to be used to look after my family in retirement. Livid is an understatement of how I feel,” Shields said.
Shields admitted that at one stage during the mess he wondered why he had turned his back on New Zealand rugby after his successful career in Wellington.
But his wife had talked some sense into him and pointed out he had achieved his goal of playing international rugby, though he would have liked to have earned more than the nine caps after being brought over as one of Jones’ “projects”.
David Rogers
A yellow card for Brad Shields at Wasps was the least of his worries in English rugby.
“Short project,” he quipped, doubting he would feature again with Jones now gone.
He’s up for the challenge of the Top 14 in France, albeit with a Perpignan side who are second to bottom with just four wins from 13 games.
“I’m essentially playing for a contract, here or somewhere else,” Shields told the Daily Mail.
“It’s a new team, new feel and I have to reinvent myself a bit. There’s been resentment, sadness and anger, but now I’ve got no choice but to start afresh.”
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