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Aaron Smith reveals how early rejection from Hurricanes made him the world's best

April 1, 2019

After an early promise with Manawatu, Smith faced a battle to seal a Super Rugby contract.

All Blacks and Highlanders halfback Aaron Smith has revealed how rejection from the Hurricanes early on in his career shaped him into the player he is, having today re-signed with New Zealand Rugby.

Having been a mainstay of the Highlanders' side since 2011, Smith today re-committed to staying in Dunedin through until 2021.

However, things could have been so much different for Smith, having been a target for the Hurricanes after Smith's promising provincial campaign with Manawatu in 2009.

Smith would ultimately fail to make the grade in Wellington though, with the halfback pointing the finger at himself.

"I wish I could go back and tell that fella to start running, stop eating crap, stop drinking heaps of piss and just knuckle down," Smith began.

"That's sort of what I had to learn, the Hurricanes were right. I wasn't in a position to be playing Super Rugby at the time. I needed to take a good look in the mirror."

That wouldn't be the end of Smith's journey though, with a chance opening at the Blues sending him north to Auckland, quickly opening his eyes to what it takes to cut it as a professional.

"I went up there for sort of six months."

"That kind of gave me a little snippet of where I actually needed to be as a player, fitness wise, conditioning wise and stuff like that."

Smith would return to Manawatu for the following season in 2010, with his improved form for the Turbos catching the eye of at the time Highlanders coach, Jamie Joseph.

"I had two days to make a decision, the Hurricanes said to me they'd wait until the end of the season to see how I went, and Jamie Jo [Joseph] offered me my dream in round two of that ITM [Cup].

"It was a pretty easy decision to malke."

The move from Palmerston North to Dunedin would prove to be exactly what Smith's career needed, developing from a promising youngster into the best halfback in the world.

"At the time, my mum and dad said you probably needed to get out of Manawatu, get out of that sort of bubble, coming down here was probably the best thing that happened to me."

Joseph would continue to be a key figure in Smith's career, establishing himself ahead of the likes of at the time All Black Jimmy Cowan as the Highlanders' first choice number nine.

"Jamie was quite influential in trying to help me express my game.

"He believed in me enough to give me the motivation to play my game. I didn't have to get bigger, or faster or stronger.

"I just had to play my game and use my unique skills to play Super Rugby. I was very lucky."

The rest, as they say, is history, with Smith going on to become the All Blacks' first choice halfback, winning the 2015 World Cup, as well as achieving the Highlanders' maiden Super Rugby title that same year.

Now, staying through until 2021, Smith will this year bid to win his second, and New Zealand's third, straight Rugby World Cup in Japan.

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