The Beginning
Andrew Mehrtens was born in Durban, South Africa in 1973. His family would later move to Christchurch in New Zealand where he would make a name for himself one day.
Mehrtens made his debut for Canterbury in 1993 and went on to make his All Blacks debut in 1995 against Canada. He was the fastest player to score 100 points in test rugby, by doing it in 5 tests. He was a key figure in New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup campaign and who could forget that monster of a penalty he scored in the final.
His Prime and Legacy
He won five Super 12 titles with the Canterbury Crusaders and was at the time of his retirement, the highest points scorer in the competition’s history. He also won the NPC with Canterbury in 1997, 2001 and 2004. With the All Blacks he won four Tri-Nations titles as well as a series win against South Africa in 1996.
He was a key member of the All Blacks team between 1995 and 2002, but in 2003 he fell out of favour for Carlos Spencer. Mehrtens did return to the All Blacks team in 2004 before heading to the UK to finish off his career at English club Harlequins.
Most rugby fans will remember him for his kicking ability, but he had a very underrated attacking game and should be remembered as one of the most rounded fly-halves the modern game has seen.
