Mealamu spreading positive word

All Black great Keven Mealamu in Dunedin yesterday.PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
All Black great Keven Mealamu in Dunedin yesterday.PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Keven Mealamu might have given the game up four years ago but he is still spreading the word about the positives of the oval-ball code.

The hooking great, who played 132 times for the All Blacks, retired after the last World Cup. He was in Dunedin yesterday outlining some aspects of the game which came out of the union's respect and responsibility review.

Mealamu said the review was based on four pillars of the game and how people followed them.

They were being welcoming, being the best, being passionate and playing fair.

"That is part of my role to put some stories behind these things. They have some quite simple values and I can use my experiences to paint what it looks like," he said.

"Rugby is a sport which massively challenges you to put your best foot forward. And for a lot of our kids they get some experiences which they are not used to. There are ups and downs in life and rugby is the same.

"It is not like a computer game where if it gets too hard then you just turn it off and start again.

"But you just can't turn off when you are in the field."

Mealamu (40) has been a New Zealand Rugby ambassador since he hung up his boots.

He said technology was a big part of youth these days and there was no getting away from that.

" It is about having a good balance and getting a bit of everything.

"You need to have the right language to use with our kids. We need to think outside the box a bit more. An example of that was not to say "you couldn't do that in my day".

"But it is a constant challenge to bring them along and make the right decisions."

Mealamu said it did not seem four years since he retired.

It had all gone quite quickly and it was hard to believe another World Cup was just around the corner.

He had faith in the decision-making the All Blacks had made in the lead-up and was confident the side would be in good form when the key games arrived.

He said so many top teams were in the running for the World Cup and the margins at the top level were wafer-thin.

A key to success was enjoying the World Cup and having fun during the tournament.

Mealamu said his body told him it was time to finish in 2015 but he missed the camaraderie of his team-mates.

Mealamu is heading to Cromwell today to support Otago secondary school teams which won the Highlands sidelines standards competition.

Teams will get a free race around the go-kart track.

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