Rugby star banned from Six Nations now works in supermarket after big career turn

A quarter of a century has passed since Shane Howarth was informed he could no longer play for Wales. The anguish endures. Regardless of what official paperwork may presently declare, what remains is his steadfast conviction that he is Welsh.

In 2000, Howarth became embroiled in the Grannygate eligibility controversy that rocked Welsh rugby. It became a traumatic experience for both him and his family. Consequently, he has rarely spoken about the matter in any substantial depth.

Nevertheless, in a conversation with WalesOnline, he was willing to discuss the entire episode openly for the first time in 2020. What unfolded was a tumultuous tale of front-page stories, concealed truths, deep regret and tremendous anguish.

It commenced in 1998 when Howarth received an unforeseen telephone call from his former Auckland coach Graham Henry. He had already secured four caps for his native New Zealand in 1994, though this occurred during an era when players could later represent another country if they met the criteria. And thus the story began.

"England had approached me to play against the All Blacks at the end of 1997 and I said no," Howarth recalls. "I had played with a lot of the All Blacks boys, so it just kind of didn't feel right to play against them.

"But then, the following year, Graham approached me and said 'I've heard you have got English qualifications, have you got Welsh?'"

"So I checked with mum and she said 'Yeah, I think we have'. So that's how I went down that avenue, with all the dramas and everything that fell on the back of it."

Before the scandal and heartache came the elation, as Howarth relished some truly memorable moments with Wales. He excelled at full-back during an extraordinary 10-match winning run that included impressive victories over South Africa, France, Argentina and, his personal pinnacle, England at Wembley.

Yet, in February 2000, his world collapsed when doubts emerged about his Welsh eligibility and he was subsequently barred from representing his adopted country.

"I remember getting a phone call on the Saturday night telling me there was going to be a story in the Sunday papers," he said. "I just said 'There's no dramas, I'm fine'. I didn't realise how much it would blow up."

Howarth's eligibility for Wales had been based on his grandfather, Thomas Williams, being born in Cardiff.

Nevertheless, following press reports suggesting his maternal grandfather was actually someone different, it rapidly became apparent there was a problem. "I couldn't prove he was my grandfather. It wasn't on the birth certificate," says Howarth.

"But, in my heart, I truly believed, and I still believe now, that I had Welsh blood running through my veins."

Nevertheless, without being able to furnish written evidence of his Welsh lineage, he was compelled to withdraw from the Six Nations squad as the Grannygate scandal escalated, bringing his second international career to a sudden conclusion.

"There were a lot of players involved in it, but, unfortunately - I guess because I was an All Black - I kind of got singled out," he said. "That's the way it is and you cop that on the chin. But, to this day, I am Welsh.

"If I can't get papers to prove that, then have a look at the 20 games I played in the red jersey and see if I wasn't Welsh. To have that taken away from me hurt, it hurt big time. But what upsets me the most is it hurt my mum's side of the family.

"It dragged up things that didn't need to be bloody dragged up. It all came out in the wash. The most disheartening thing for me, out of it all, was I let my mum and my grandmother down.

"That sits with me still today. As much as I could, I went up to see nana and apologise. It did bring skeletons up that didn't need to be brought up. I took that pretty hard. It really gutted me. It hurt me a lot because it put mum and that side of the family under pressure, which was just crap to be honest."

Following his return to New Zealand, Howarth, now 57, moved into coaching roles with Auckland and the Blues, whilst also taking on positions with the Pacific Islanders, Worcester in the UK, and Honda Heat in Japan. However, he then embarked on a completely different venture - running a supermarket in the Auckland suburb of Mangere Bridge.

"It's something we talked about when I was playing over here back in the 1990s," he revealed. "Myself, Robin Brooke and Eric Rush were just sat around having dinner with our wives and partners and wondering what to do after rugby.

"They both went on to work in the supermarket business, but I went up to Europe to play and then into coaching. So it was something that was put on the back burner.

"But then when I was coaching out in Japan, I was on my own and the family was back in New Zealand. I thought I can't keep working this way and it was a question of what else can I do.

"So my wife just said, 'Well, you've talked about it for 20 years, so go and work in a supermarket'. I did a year's training with Fresh Choice unpaid, which was a bit of fun.

"Then I got approved to buy a shop in December 2017. It's been a great thing to do. We own the franchise and all the products in the shop, so we have pretty much free rein on what we do in the store.

"We've been at it for just over a year now and it's quite hard. When I started, I was doing about 75 hours a week. I've pulled it back to around 50 now!"

"We knew it was going to be like that and we were going to be having to work our bottoms off. My wife does the admin side, which can be quite hectic, while I'm happier hands on in among all of it. It works well.

"It was quite a big thing that a rugby player had taken it over at first, but now I'm just one of the community, which is exactly what we wanted."