LAY BROTHERS FOLLOW IN EACH OTHER’S FOOTSTEPS

When James Lay found out his troublesome foot injury would sideline him from the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Championship, then there seemed only one logical option.

His slightly older brother Jordan has stepped in, selected by Blues head coach Leon MacDonald to join the strong group of props at the club, and by doing so, the Lay brothers continue to mimic each other’s rugby careers.

The Lay brothers, both in Samoa, moved to Auckland with their parents aged two and three respectively. They went to the same early schools together, and were a year apart through secondary school at Kings College where they played together in the 1stXV.

Out of school, James remained in Auckland playing for the province in 2016, while brother Jordan headed south to Bay of Plenty where his younger brother joined him in 2018.

At the end of that season the Lay brothers ventured to UK, with Jordan signing for two years for Edinburgh and James to Pat Lam’s Bristol after completing a second season at Bay of Plenty.

Of course, Jordan moved south to join his brother at Bristol in 2018 and the brothers enjoyed a special experience for the family when both were selected to play for Manu Samoa at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. To date, Jordan has earned 24 caps and James 10 for their country.

James headed back to New Zealand in 2020 when the Covid pandemic hit, with the tighthead prop impressed sufficiently for Auckland to get a call-up to the Blues for the 2021 season, while loosehead brother Jordan moved on-loan to Ospreys in UK.

A Lisfranc injury in the midfoot ended James Lay’s Super season and the bothersome issue required surgery. There were issues in the recovery which required a second surgery and with a further minor operation required to remove a pin, it means James will be unavailable for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.

In the meantime, brother Jordan returned home to join the Auckland squad in this truncated season, and therefore no surprises that the Blues have called him in for the season to replace his brother.

“We were disappointed for James who is a really handy player and a brilliant squad member on and off the grass. It is such a small injury but complicated and we are all disappointed for him,” said MacDonald.

“The Lay brothers are almost like twins in their stature, and their careers. We knew of Jordan’s capabilities through Tom Coventry’s work as forwards coach for Manu Samoa and he was the obvious replacement.”

With a late start for the Blues’ All Black front-rowers Ofa Tuungafasi, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Nepo Laulala, no doubt the Lay name will appear on the start sheet in the 2022 season.