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Kieran Read -
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It was while he was tending his barbecue that the achievement of winning the World Cup finally hit Kieran Read.
After the last celebratory beers with his team-mates had been drained and the parades had ended, No8 Read was back home cooking sausages when the huge scale of the All Blacks' 8-7 win over France in the final at Eden Park struck him.
"It took a few weeks for me for it to sink in," Read, 26, acknowledged. "When you got home you just lay there for a few days. I think it was just when you are at home and cooking away at the barbie - when you are reflecting and enjoying the moment of what it was and can say `hey, you are a world champion' - and no-one can take that away from you."
Having played an integral part in New Zealand's 24-year drought-busting win and overcoming an ankle injury that forced him to skip all four pool matches, Read was content to drop out of the limelight and relax at home with his young family once the blur of post-tournament parties had tapered off.
Venturing out among the public also became a new adventure.
"It started to really sink in with the amount of people that would come up to you and say `congratulations' and how excited they were and how nervous they were for that last 10 minutes. That was pretty much what everyone wanted to tell you. You just saw how much it meant to people."
An extended break since the October 23 final allowed Read the rare luxury of a longer off-season before returning to training with the Crusaders last month.
Read will not play in the Crusaders' opening pre-season match against the Highlanders in Greymouth on Friday evening but coach Todd Blackadder will probably give him a run against the Hurricanes in Mangatainoka the following weekend.
Despite having to return to the humble surrounds of Rugby Park after the highs of winning the Webb Ellis Cup, Read denied there was any likelihood of him struggling for motivation as the Crusaders chase their first title since 2008.
"It is always going to be in the back of the mind what has been achieved, but when you come out here it's all about the hard graft. That puts you back to where you need to be and from my point of view there are still are a lot of things I want to achieve within this game. That's a motivating factor."
