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Kyle Preston became an All Black back in the summer and will play against an England 'A' side this weekend in Bath - which is a stunning rise for a scrum-half who a year ago had completed his apprenticeship to become a roofer. The 26-year-old was part of a Wellington side that triumphed in New Zealand's NPC Championship and his exploits there put the country's most successful team on notice, the Crusaders. Preston made the move down with his career kickstarting thanks to a hat-trick on debut. But in his mid-20s Preston was wise to the fact that a rugby career wasn't guaranteed and dovetailed his Wellington training and matches with a roofer qualification. It meant early morning gym sessions and evening training either side of a day grafting on people's houses. Preston was even picking up work "at the weekends if the boss had some cash jobs" but he's gone from strength to strength in a 12 month period that saw him capped in a win over South Africa at Eden Park in September. Now he's touring Europe with the All Blacks XV. He told Mirror Sport : "It has been very hectic, a lot going on. Like you said its almost like you don't have time to reflect, but there a period this summer after NPC where you look at the last year and it has been very rewarding and to do what I love as a job is awesome." It was back in March last year that Preston qualified as a roofer. Before rugby really took off the scrum-half was working Monday to Friday, although the nature of his trade meant that the weather was often intervening and stopping jobs. The Crusaders star had always wanted to make rugby his career, but with the years passing by he had to consider the prospect that it wasn't going to happen. He said: "For me I'd kind of worked pretty hard since I was 11, 12 I wanted to make rugby my job but it took a lot longer than I thought so I wanted to get an apprenticeship. So straight out of school I had part-time jobs so I could train as much as I could but after a few years I hadn't cracked a professional gig so thought I better be good and do an apprenticeship." Even after signing his deal with the Crusaders, which has shorted him out for the next few years, he's still gone back on the odd occasion to his previous job. Unlike some careers Preston might not be able to turn his hand back to roofing once his stint in rugby comes to a close. He claimed: "It is quite a tough job on the body so I could see myself starting my own company and being on the tools for a bit, but working my way off them, and just running the business." This year Preston has become a shining example of what can happen when you take your chance. His three tries on Crusaders debut only came about due to an early injury. In September he got his All Blacks call-up off the of three injuries to players in his position. Cortez Ratima, Cam Roigard and Noah Hotham all went down and then let to Finlay Christie being promoted for his first test start since July last year against England, with Preston as his backup. He said: "It is pretty s*** that it has to come from injuries but that's rugby and that's how it goes. I've always had the confidence and ability that I deserve to be at this level."
