Andrew Mehrtens
Andrew Mehrtens, fondly known as ‘Mehrts’ is one of NZ’s most recognisable and loved All Blacks. Rugby legend Colin ‘Pine Tree’ Meads believed that Mehrts was the best 1st five our country’s ever produced!
Mehrts was born in South Africa (but we won’t hold that against him) and grew-up in Canterbury playing footy for local clubs, Christchurch Boys High 1st XV and then onto U19 and U21 NZ Representative sides.
He was an accomplished kicker, who had a tactical mind and could read the game like no other. Mehrts was snapped-up at an early age by the Red & Black machine and made his debut for Canterbury in 1993. He was a huge asset to the team making 108 appearances and racking up over 1000 points.
In 1996, Super Rugby emerged and Mehrts transitioned into the Crusaders. He was a pivotal part of the side playing 87 games, scoring 990 points and taking home the trophy 5 times, including a three-peat!
Mehrts gained international recognition when he got the call of a lifetime to join New Zealand’s national side and became All Black #944. He proved his worth at the 1995 Rugby World Cup alongside other young players Jonah Lomu and Josh Kronfeld. Mehrts donned the black jersey on 70 occasions and amassed a whopping 994 points.
Mehrts had a stint in Europe and between 2005-2013 represented the Harlequins, Toulon, Racing Métro and Béziers.
Off-field Mehrts was a joker, from the early days at Chch Boys High and right throughout his career which made it an easy transition for him into commentating, where he’s been a regular on Sky Sport, SENZ and Stan Sport in Australia.
Mehrts has worked in numerous areas of financial services over the past decade too. He has used the skills and experience learned in the sports arena and applied them to the corporate world with great success. He now lives in Sydney and works as an advisor at ARC Global Wealth.
Mehrts talking points are:
Leadership and high-performance teams
Rugby
Yarns from the old rugby days
