AUCKLAND // It has been a tough few months for Jimmy Cowan, but the scrum-half responded in fine fashion at the weekend with his best performance for New Zealand in his short career. Six weeks ago, the 26-year-old's international future was in doubt after a series of alcohol-fuelled incidents led to him being charged with three counts of disorderly behaviour.
The New Zealand Rugby Union fined him NZ$3,000 (Dh804), banned him from drinking alcohol and ordered that he seek alcohol counselling, warning him he was on his last chance. But Cowan responded to the faith shown in him with an impressive display in the 39-10 trouncing of Australia at Eden Park in just his second start in 14 Tests. Coming into the game with a broken nose and a knee sprain, Cowan's sharp passing provided fly-half Dan Carter with quality ball and he also helped to ease some of the burden on the All Blacks No 10 with some deft kicking from behind a dominant New Zealand forward pack.
While clearly a man on top of his game on the field, Cowan said he was still working hard to overcome his issues off the park with the support of family and friends, the All Blacks coaches and players. "It's step one for me. It's an ongoing process but I've got to keep looking forward down the track and taking each step as it comes," he said. "Them things aren't behind me. I'm still going through the process and I've just got to keep going about my things and keep playing good footy - let my rugby do the talking."
The New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith has certainly been impressed by the change in Cowan. "For what Jimmy's gone through this year and in the last couple of months, plus the injury on top of that, he's shown an amazing amount of guts and what the jersey means to him," said Smith. He was overlooked last year and had been playing second fiddle to Andy Ellis this year since his recall following an impressive Super 14 season with the Highlanders.
Wearing the No 9 jersey against Australia had been a proud moment for Cowan, despite the pressure of coming into the match after successive defeats to South Africa and Australia. "My last start was in Rustenburg so it's something I'll cherish" he added. "Two losses and we had lot of pressure throughout the week so to come and have a good win is something I'll never forget." * PASport