The former rugby union player has moved to Paris with his family
It has been almost a year since the New Zealander moved from Sydney to Paris. The fluent French speaker talks commentating, asset management and, of course, rugby.
When All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens wound up his glittering rugby career in France in 2013, the idea of returning to live in the country a decade later was the last thing on his mind.
“I left on a sour note, I got shafted by a couple of ambitious coaches,” Mehrtens reveals.
After finishing with the All Blacks in 2005, Mehrtens moved to England, and then played for French clubs Toulon, Racing Métro 92 and finally, Béziers.
In all, Mehrtens played 70 Tests for the All Blacks, including in the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, and remains the 10th highest points scorer in the history of rugby internationals. Since retiring, he has gone on to forge a successful media career, commentating the past four World Cups.
And it was at the previous tournament in Japan that 50-year-old Mehrtens and his partner of six years, Shauna McCallion, decided they would start a new life in Paris.
“The chance to come back to a slightly better experience was quite a motivating force,” Mehrtens tells WISH.
McCallion and her two daughters, Rio, 12, and Morgan, 10, now live with Mehrtens in their apartment in Paris’s 16th arrondissement.
“It seemed logical, and for us, the right time to have a new experience, particularly with the girls the age they are,” Mehrtens says.
“We’ve probably got a two-year break point. There comes an age where you don’t want to move kids because it’s difficult with school and building new friendships. I think Sydney is always, ultimately, going to be home sooner or later.”
But the Paris sojourn provides a unique adventure for the blended family, particularly as Mehrtens’s children from his previous relationship – Sam, 22, George, 15, and Ivy, 14 – live in New Zealand.
“I’ve got three kids in New Zealand and they’re going to come out a couple of times while we’re over here. My daughter (Ivy) was born in Paris, my son (George) was born in Toulon. She is absolutely pumped about the prospect of getting over here for a couple of weeks,” Mehrtens says.
“Shauna and I had been planning the move really since we went to Tokyo for the last couple of weeks of the last World Cup. We went to a function where there was a handover from Japan to France for the World Cup and we said to one another, ‘We should use the Rugby World Cup in France as a platform to live there for a couple of years and have a new experience’.
“We had covid after that and were shut down, but it’s moved quickly since then, and suddenly we were here in November when the All Blacks and Wallabies went across. We came back just before Christmas just to let the girls finish their year of school.”
Mehrtens will commentate and appear as a panellist at this year’s World Cup for Stan Sport and BBC Radio. “There are lots of opportunities, [after the] World Cup in September-October. I’ve got a lot of work on there, but I’m looking forward to doing a number of things here in broadcasting, conferences,” he says.
“The French have had a lot of history with the All Blacks and they’re intrigued with the New Zealand sporting way. I’m able to speak to the All Blacks’ most recent success and talk about leadership, team culture and cohesion.
“There are those opportunities, and then I’ve also been lucky enough to build a relationship with [Sydney-based] Fortlake Asset Management. They’ve got a really well-performing fund and they’re looking at some potential global opportunities to European and American investors.
“So being over here, with the access to the financial network rugby does have in France and the UK … I’m obviously not a subject expert, I’m just the guy trying to open doors,” he says.
The family lives close to the Arc de Triomphe, and fluent French speaker Mehrtens often leaves locals shocked by his use of slang that even they don’t speak.
“I studied French all my life, through school and university, so I had a pretty good base,” Mehrtens says. “I lived in France for six years between 2007 and 2013. When you’ve got a base, and I’ve always liked languages, then it’s pretty easy to build from what you know in the textbook,” he laughs.
Mehrtens likes the idiosyncrasies of the language. “I do enjoy what they call argot, the French colloquial language, using terms they use every day, almost semi-dialect terms. You don’t get a lot of that in Paris, but certainly in the regions they’ve got sayings and pronunciations; it does fascinate me.”
And expect plenty of colourful slang to be delivered in all languages across the next seven weeks as sporting fans get behind their nations bidding to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy.
“I think the Wallabies can go deep, and can win it, if they’re lucky with injuries,” says Mehrtens. “They’re in a good pool that gives them a strong chance to get into the quarters and semis, and we know that in those games, anything can happen. They will be flying under the radar and that suits them.”
As for his team, the All Blacks, coach Ian Foster already knows he’ll be in charge for the last time at this tournament, regardless of how they perform, with New Zealand Rugby making the unprecedented decision earlier this year to replace him with Crusaders mastercoach Scott Robertson from 2024.
“From the players and the coach, there will be a certain defiance,” says Mehrtens. “I’m not saying Ian Foster’s the best coach in the world, but the players seemed to have enjoyed their time with him, and trust him, which is important. They hurt for a coach being criticised, when they feel it’s unfair; the same as they do for a teammate.
“Ian Foster will be very keen to go out being able to thumb his nose at New Zealand Rugby and say, ‘Hey we won the World Cup. You got it wrong, you underestimated me’.
“It drives your desire to train and prepare well for the games, but it doesn’t help you when you’re working on your skills and tactics for the games.”
But surely, the French hosts will start as tournament favourites alongside World No.1-ranked Ireland. “There is an awareness in France that a lot of their fortunes do revolve around (scrum-half) Antoine Dupont,” Mehrtens says. “French rugby is always based on the No.9 being the boss. In our neck of the woods, we’re used to the No.10 calling the shots because he tends not to have as many big bodies in front of him, and has more of a helicopter view of what’s going on. But here, it’s always the No.9s, like Napoleons.”
The World Cup promises to be a rugby tourist’s dream, but Mehrtens has some final advice for those making the trip to France and booking at many of the popular destinations and experiences.
“Make sure you go to the official websites because there are other sellers, they might not be fake tickets, but you can get ripped off,” the rugby great cautions. “Other than that, it’s game on.”
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