TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH-My deep bond with Japan

WHY MIKE MCROBERTS HAS ASIA ON HIS MIND

- Kelly Bertand

Mike McRoberts, All Black? Well, not quite – but if it wasn’t for a certain endearingly cranky All Black coach, the chat the Weekly is having with the much-loved Newshub presenter might be going a lot differently.

We’re catching up with Mike to talk all things rugby – he’s about to return to Japan to front Newshub’s coverage of the 2019 Rugby World Cup − and the celebrated journalist reveals he has a deep love of our national game, which could have gone all the way were it not for a bloke they call Shag.

“I used to play with Steve Hansen back in the day,” tells Mike, grinning. “I played club rugby for years – for Suburbs, and he played for Marist in Christchurch. We were both quite big centers back in the day; he probably kept me out of a few rep teams!

“I interviewed him the other day though and reminded him that I ran [rings] around him once – that got a smile.”

Despite his lost opportunities on the rugby field, Mike’s managed to carve out a niche for himself as Mediaworks’ go-to guy for the big stuff.

He really has seen it all – world championships, natural disasters, political upheavals and breaking news events. And whether he’s donning a bulletproof vest in Syria, pulling on a leotard for Dancing with the Stars or posting a shirtless shot to Instagram that almost broke the internet (he has previously, and rather humbly, compared his toned figure to a “super-market chicken”), Mike always seems to attract attention.

“Ah, well, anything that pushes you outside of your boundaries is good, right?” he says, eyes twinkling.