He had the perfect name to go with a familiar tune that riffed on Carisbrook’s status as the House of Pain.
And the dear old ground really was Taine Randell’s house in his pomp.
He captained the Highlanders for seven seasons — making him by far the club’s longest-serving skipper — in an era when the club made the semifinals for fun and hosted the final in 1999.
His pin-up boy good looks, intelligence and mana made him the ideal man for the leadership role.
Randell was also a loose forward of uncommon grace, verve and versatility.
While he sometimes gave away a few kilograms to his opposite numbers, he more than made up for it with his playing ability.
And, while he was destined to have a difficult time as All Blacks captain, Randell was rightly feted for the leadership of a Highlanders team containing a mix of characters.
Taine Cheyenne Randell was, like regular loose forward compadre Josh Kronfeld, a product of Hawke’s Bay, out of Lindisfarne College.
He studied for a double degree at Otago, played for the University and Dunedin clubs, and made his NPC debut at 17.
Randell’s leadership qualities were recognised when he captained the New Zealand Colts for two years, and he captained the All Blacks in a midweek tour game in 1996 aged 21 years and 275 days.
He was on a hiding to nothing when he was made permanent All Blacks captain at just 23.
After five straight test defeats in 1998 and a quarterfinal exit at the 1999 World Cup, Randell lost the captaincy, but he was a good All Black who deserved his 51 caps.
Randell finished on a frustrating note with the Highlanders when the 2003 season ended in acrimony between some players and coach Laurie Mains, to whom Randell remained loyal.
‘‘We lost tests with the All Blacks, a number when I was captain, but we never doubted what people were trying to do. We were always committed to trying to win.
‘‘I couldn’t say the same thing about the way the Highlanders finished.
‘‘Matters weren’t handled in an Otago sort of way and that was really disappointing. I always enjoyed playing for the Highlanders. It was just unfortunate it finished on such a note.’’
Randell headed to England, where he represented the Saracens club with distinction before getting into the finance world.
He is back in Hawke’s Bay, where he has dabbled in carbon credits and Maori governance, been a director of the Hawke’s Bay Airport, and started a freeze-dried food company.
Randell has also become a part-owner of the Highlanders, buying a stake in the club alongside fellow alumni Marc Ellis, John Blaikie and Simon Maling.
