Interview: Mending the All Blacks, with Doc Mayhew

It was 200 years ago this year that a young scholar by the name of William Webb Ellis decided to take the game of football into his own hands. Quite literally. He picked up the ball and ran from his opponents and, in doing so, invented what we now know as Rugby.

The sport now boasts over half a billion fans across 132 countries, and is played by over eight million people around the world.

It's more popular than it's ever been, but there are also questions around its future, with recent concerns surrounding the potential long-term health impacts of playing the game, particularly at an elite level that was professionalised only as recently as 1995.

So as the tenth Rugby World Cup takes centre stage, the latest episode of Unsung sees us chat with someone who has witnessed firsthand the transformation of the professional game and who is best placed to discuss its hot-button topic.

John Mayhew was doctor to the All Blacks for over 200 matches, beginning in the amateur era in 1988, before moving on to work at rugby league side New Zealand Warriors in 2003. Now in his late sixties, Doc Mayhew continues to be involved in professional level rugby in his home city of Auckland.

In our chat, the doc describes tending to legends like Michael Jones, Sean Fitzpatrick, Richie McCaw, and of course, Jonah Lomu - with whom he forged a close bond while treating the winger's genetic kidney disease.

We also discuss the perils of treating his own rugby-playing sons, his World Cup memories - not all of them fond - and the challenges of working with the toughest of players who refuse to hear that they're hurt. To no surprise this includes a story about renowned Kiwi hardman Buck Shelford, who once famously finished a game against France without realising one of his testicles had been ripped from his scrotum... 

Many thanks to John for his time and insight, and also to Ben at the New Zealand Rugby Foundation for his help facilitating our conversation. 

The Foundation advocates for and champions the safety of all players in rugby, and you can find out more about their work via the link below.

If you know of someone who’d make a good subject for a future Unsung podcast, get in touch with a recommendation at unsungpodcast.com.

Quotes:

“The spectrum of injuries has changed. The training has made them bigger and stronger, and the collisions are that much harder, and there's a lot more collisions. You get props and locks now who are making upwards of 20 tackles a game. In my day, if you're a lock or a prop it's pretty unlucky if you had to make two or three tackles in a game. You went into a lot of rucks, you did a lot more running. So the game has changed, and the injury pattern has changed as well.”

“I think we've got to be very careful here and look at the science rather than the emotion. And I get concerned. I mean, getting hit on the head is not good for you, that's rule number one. And rugby's tried to make the game safer by outlawing and managing the acute head injury much better.”

“In the Seventies and Eighties the management of concussion wasn't as good, and rugby league was even worse. But we've tidied that aspect of the game up now, we are managing head injury. And believe me, as a practicing sports medicine doctor, the management of a concussed player is one of the hardest parts of the job.”

“You do develop a relationship with these players, but as a rugby doctor you've gotta still think, okay, this may be the most famous rugby player in the world, but he's still a patient. And as a doctor you're on the field sometimes and you think, ‘well, I know the state of the game, if I take Richie McCaw off, that could affect the outcome of the game.’ But if he has to come off, he has to come off. And you've gotta put your team allegiance aside. And that can be hard sometimes.”

“I had a unique relationship with Jonah Lomu. I looked after him for a number of years, and, unfortunately, was there at his death. We kept his medical treatment quiet; it was done at my surgery after hours and we'd go and consult with a kidney specialist after hours. And Jonah was a hard person to hide when you go anywhere with him. He stood out quite a bit, six foot five and 115 kgs and the most remarkable person in world rugby. So managing him was a challenge, but it was a great challenge.”

Explore more

New Zealand Rugby Foundation 

https://www.rugbyfoundation.com/

Buy the book!

Unsung: Not All Heroes Wear Kits, by Alexis James

http://www.unsungbook.com

Guest: John ‘Doc’ Mayhew

Host: Alexis James

Producer: Matt Cheney

Artwork: Matt Walker

Executive Producer: Sam Barry

Thanks to: New Zealand Rugby Foundation

Mentioned in this episode:

The Unsung charity partner is leading social care charity, Community Integrated Care.

They deliver 10 million hours of care annually to people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health concerns, dementia, and complex care needs. Their revolutionary ‘Inclusive Volunteering’ model sees it partner with sporting events like the Rugby League World Cup and UEFA Women’s EURO, tackling society’s deepest inequalities and enabling thousands with complex barriers to enjoy sport. To find out how you can work with, partner with, or access their support, visit www.CommunityIntegratedCare.co.uk.

Sports Podcast Awards

For the second year running, the Unsung podcast has been nominated as a finalist in the Sports Podcast Awards. This time around, we’re shortlisted in two categories: Best Sports Documentary Podcast and Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast. We’d love your vote! You can do so in the links below: Best Sports Documentary Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-sports-documentary-podcast Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-olympics-and-paralympics-podcast