"I was probably still clinging on to an All Blacks dream at that point," he quips.
But now, the 30-year-old is nine days out from representing NZ at the age-group world triathlon champs in Wollongong, Australia. He’s the only Otago/Southland athlete who’s qualified.
Valentine, who’s played four seasons for the Prems though only five games this year, only competed in his first tri in December 2023 — a gruelling half ironman in Taupo — on a mate’s suggestion.
Till then he’d not even ridden a road bike, let alone a time trial bike, however he says the race gave him "the bug".
"I love the discipline, I love the training, those key things underpin the whole sport."
Then, last year he competed in a standard-distance tri in Tauranga — 1.5km swim, 40km bike leg and 10km run — not realising it doubled as the NZ champs and therefore a qualifier for the worlds.
After placing seventh in his age group he was beckoned over by an official.
"I thought he was giving me a penalty, he said, ‘no, no, you’ve just qualified for Wollongong world champs next year’."
Valentine’s competing in the 30-to-34 age group.
"The guy who came seventh at the Olympics is in my age group, so I’m not getting too unrealistic expectations."
He admits he’s thought about how he’d have gone if he’d taken up the sport at 18, "but it’s interesting, like a lot of the professional athletes are in that 30-to-35 bracket".
As to his strategy, "you just gotta get through the swim, you gotta really go for it on the bike and then you just gotta hold on for the run".
"I’m going to be relying on adrenalin and my competitive nature, I think, to get me through."
As for comparisons with rugby, the solo trainings are "the biggest shift".
"Coming from footy, you probably carry a bit more size than a lot of other triathletes, but you can put more power out on the bike."
In terms of the training and discipline there are similarities, he says, "but you’re not running into seven foot farmers".
As to whether he’ll shave his legs to help his cycling, that’s not happening — "I think the footy boys would have a field day if they saw me with shaved legs".
