The Highlanders prop has vowed to bounce back strongly from the difficult northern tour in which he was stood down for a game for breaching team standards then not selected for tests against Ireland and France.
De Groot has also revealed the reason he was stood down by coach Scott Robertson for the test against England at Twickenham.
‘‘A lot of things didn’t go my way in terms of the selection on tour after my wee whoopsie,’’ he told the Otago Daily Times.
He copped his punishment for missing a curfew while in Japan at the start of the tour, de Groot said.
His subsequent non-selection for the feature tests was not related to his minor indiscretion, but it was a major blow for the burly Southlander to have to sit in the stands in Dublin and Paris.
‘‘It was a pretty tough time, probably one of the toughest times I’ve had in an All Black environment.
‘‘I’d buggered my neck in the Rugby Championship. I was due to play [against Argentina], but that wasn’t to be because my neck and my left arm stopped basically working.
‘‘I was trying to get myself back in the team and then just to have that happen to me . . . those couple of weeks were tough watching.
‘‘Yeah, that mistake I made, I’ll own it.’’
De Groot, who knows an All Blacks jersey is never his as of right, relishes the ‘‘healthy competition’’ with rising star Tamaiti Williams and veteran Ofa Tu’ungafasi, and is determined to get back in Robertson’s good books.
‘‘We’re obviously aiming for the same thing and that’s playing as much footy as we can in that All Black jersey.
‘‘I’ve had a few setbacks. And I always bounce back pretty strong after setbacks like that.
‘‘I think it just adds fuel. I’m ready to put my best foot forward this season, go as hard as I can for the Highlanders and put my hand up to try and get that starting jersey back.’’
De Groot recently married longtime partner Claudia Hutton — and proved even the staunchest rugby player can get a little emotional on a special occasion.
‘‘There must have been a bit of dust in the wind that caught me when I saw her coming down the aisle.
‘‘I didn’t think I would cry but, Jeez, I couldn’t help myself.’’
He is on home turf today as the Highlanders, billeted to stay with Southland families last night, play a preseason game against the Crusaders in Invercargill.
