Eyes wide open, tongue stuck out, every muscle tense: Anton Segner has long mastered the famous Haka, the Maori war dance.
And at least in front of his own mirror, the Frankfurter appears just as scary as his great idols from the legendary All Blacks from New Zealand. He could soon be one of them.
But Segner is not yet on the pitch with the New Zealand national rugby team in the game on Saturday evening as part of the Rugby Autumn Nations Series 2024 against France (November 16th, from 8:50 p.m., live on ProSieben MAXX, Joyn). .de and in the ran app).
Instead, Segner will be a guest in the ProSieben MAXX studio during the broadcast of the game. Nevertheless, he could become the new hope for New Zealand rugby.
Segner, who moved to the other side of the world at the age of 15 and is now eligible to play for the senior national team, is one of the country’s top talents. Playing for the All Blacks is his childhood dream.
Segner: Difficult time during Corona
When New Zealand closed its borders for almost two years during the corona pandemic, Segner was alone. Family visits in Germany were impossible, and of course vice versa. But this was the only way the Hessian could secure the right to play for New Zealand. A player has to live in a country for five years; visits abroad are strictly limited, that’s what the world association wants. Segner persevered.
Segner found his way into rugby through two friends from England; he had previously played football and ice hockey. “We went to their house once and then we didn’t know what to do anymore,” says Segner: “Then they said: ‘Do we want to go into the garden and play a little rugby?’ At the time I had never heard of the sport.”
Segner, who was nine at the time, was impressed, especially by how hard it was. “I really liked the fact that there was a sport in which it was legal to knock other people down,” he says. Two weeks later, he and his older brother stopped by SC Frankfurt 1880’s training session – a stroke of luck.
The club’s New Zealand coach, Tim Manawatu, discovered the already stocky blond boy, he was sent to college in Nelson and soon played for the school team, New Zealand’s U20 national team and finally ended up at the top club Auckland Blues via the provincial team Tasman Mako.
Segner is entering his fourth season in Super Rugby there. “Compared to football, this is the Champions League,” he explains. In March 2024, Segner extended his contract until the end of 2026.
“I have lived here in Auckland for two years now and feel very comfortable in the city. I will now also play for Auckland in the National Provincial Championship,” said Segner on “totalrugby.de” as the reasons for his contract extension, although According to media reports in New Zealand, he could have returned to his former club Crusaders.
