E78 | Josh Kronfeld
Episode summary | Josh Kronfeld
Josh Kronfeld is an All Blacks legend and a cult hero in Dunedin, where he played over 100 games for Otago and the Highlanders.
The openside flanker played 54 games for the All Blacks including two Rugby World Cups over a five-year career that straddled the transition from amateur to professional rugby. In fact, Josh was at the centre of the Rugby Wars of the mid-90s playing a pivotal role in securing the signatures of All Blacks with New Zealand Rugby.
Off the field you can find him reporting for The Crowd Goes Wild, but he has also starred on Celebrity Treasure Island and Dancing With The Stars. He used his profile to push a “no nukes” message during his playing days and recalls with fondness his schoolboy rugby days and the impact the University of Otago had on his personal development.
Josh is not your average rugby player. He’s a trained physio, he surfs, he paints, he’s a reporter for Crowd Goes Wild, he restores Classic Cars, he’s a family man, and a deep thinker – we think he put it best at the end after nearly two hours – we barely scratched the surface!
Show notes | Josh Kronfeld
1.38 Surfing, “Back Yourself”, and “digging like a demented mole” on Jonah Lomu Rugby
6.01 The third ugliest man at the 1999 Rugby World Cup
7.55 Injuring his downstairs operation in preparation for an interview with Mahe Drysdale
16.33 The Crowd Goes Wild
20.55 Growing up in Hastings and the importance of schoolboy rugby
29.23 From 88kg to 100kg
35.00 Otago: rugby, beating the Lions, court sessions, the supporters club, and the University of Otago experience
48.52 From amateur to professional rugby
1.01.08 The 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa
1.05.50 Meeting Nelson Mandela
1.08.59 A Jonah Lomu interlude
1.14.44 Playing for money at Leicester Tigers
1.18.40 Injuries over the years
1.22.55 No nukes in my backyard
1.28.26 Retiring from rugby and travelling for a year across the USA and South America
1.35.48 Going back to the University of Otago as a 33-year-old ex-All Black
1.38.57 Celebrity Treasure Island
1.48.48 Would Josh ever consider being a team physio?
1.52.08 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Josh
