Hayden Meikle: Tell me what you have been up to and where you have been in the last year or so.
Anton Oliver: I've been in London since late March 2010. I initially stayed at various friends' houses (whoever had a spare bed or couch!) while I found a job - that took me three months. I've tried a couple of different positions since then, doing what most do in their early 20s.
It's been a pretty challenging period. I've left behind over 15 years of industry knowledge, contacts, a brand, my family, and I came to the other side of the world where I didn't know what I was going to do. I only knew a few people and had no real business experience. I'm a firm believer in having a go, taking risks and learning through adversity and I'm certainly experiencing all of that.
HM: What is this Executive MBA you're going to be studying? How long does it take?
AO: An Executive MBA is a part-time MBA (Masters in Business Administration) designed for people who wish to continue working while they're studying. It's exactly the same syllabus as a fulltime 12-month MBA course; it's just spread out over 20 months instead of 12.
Because I've started an interest in business later than most, I want to fast-track my learning as quickly as I can. I see studying at the same time as my real life, on-the-job learning, as the best way to do this - it just requires some hard graft, dedication and commitment.
HM: Why Cambridge?
AO: I chose Cambridge because of my interest in energy, and Cambridge has immense embedded knowledge via its research departments which act like vertical silos that the business school horizontally cuts across, getting visibility on all of them.
Over the last 20-odd years, Cambridge has also become a hub for tech start-ups and is called Silicon Fen (a fen is a marsh and they surround Cambridge), a take on Silicon Valley. I wanted to put myself in an environment of cutting-edge technology, visionary thinking (two Cambridge professors advise the UK Government on energy policy) and business acumen - turning ideas into realities.
I wasn't interested in the classical business schools like London Business School because they're like a factory churning out executives for big companies - climbing the corporate ladder and being a career executive don't really interest me.
HM: Isn't the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry a bit like Otago-Southland? Won't you be viewed as a treacherous cad?
AO: To have gone to both universities is a special accomplishment. I feel very blessed. There's undoubtedly an intense rivalry between the two universities and I'm sure I'll be up for a few extra pints and some good-natured banter when I next socialise with some of my Oxford friends.
HM: Are you still driven by this sort of thirst for knowledge that has always propelled you to look outside rugby for inspiration?
AO: I think I've always had a curious spirit. Talking with me can sometimes feel like being part of an intense interrogation - apologies for that in advance. I think, for many years, I had my head buried in a world which primarily revolved around rugby. Slowly, as I got older I was exposed to, and actively searched for, more in life. How anyone in this world can say they're bored is beyond me.
HM: After the Executive MBA, then what? Any specific future plans?
AO: My loose plans are to continue to grow and expand my knowledge and contacts in the field of energy, particularly renewable energy.
HM: I think it's safe to switch into rugby mode now. Will you be attending any World Cup games? Or watching from afar?
AO: I'm coming back to New Zealand for two weeks around the quarterfinals for a business commitment. I'd love to spend some time in Central Otago but I don't think I'll have any time to get down that way. I miss it terribly.
HM: Are the All Blacks going to win? Are they on the right track?
AO: Clearly, I think the All Blacks are going to win. We've got a great team, a second-to-none coaching trio and an experienced leader in Richie. Hopefully, we've learned from 2007 and have taken those learnings through to this year. With roughly half of the team coming from the Crusaders I can't help but think that what happened to them this year will affect the All Blacks in some way - it has to. I'm just not sure how that's going to manifest itself.
The other intangible is how the New Zealand public and media support the All Blacks. I'd like to think that we're all going to be in the tent looking out with no-one on the outside looking in.
HM: Did you hear Otago won at Eden Park?
AO: That was fantastic news. I was so happy and proud of the team and I don't really know any of them. I'm over here in London, on the other side of the world, and even here I could feel that monkey come off my back! I wrote Brownie a brief missive to congratulate him.
HM: Meeuws at prop. Brown at 10. What chance we see Oliver back in a blue No 2 jersey?
AO: I've so much respect and admiration for Kees and Tony, and any other old-timer for that matter, who is still playing when their best years are up and they've got plenty of miles on the clock. For them it's not about being an All Black or the money - those good times have passed them by - it's about enjoyment and a passion to play some footy.
To still have that simple "love for the game" attitude after so many years of grind, nasty injuries (they've both had their fair share), good times and bad is a wonderful testament to them both.
HM: Carisbrook is nearly done. What's your favourite memory of the old ground?
AO: Before professionalism, Otago only trained twice a week as a team - Tuesdays at Tahuna and Thursdays at Carisbrook. We did all of our own fitness training by ourselves. Gordon Hunter was our coach and his Tuesday sessions were killers (for the forwards, anyway) - it was such a relief to finish them.
Everyone was so excited when they turned up to Thursday's training because all of the hard work was done and we got to have a run on Carisbrook. Gordon's ability to let the players express themselves and the fact that the team hardly spent any time as a team meant that we were fresh and excited to put the boots on and train together.
We were grown men with the enthusiasm of young boys; all we wanted to do was have some fun. We celebrated our differences and simply wanted to play for each other, expressing ourselves individually and collectively. I can honestly say that those Thursday training sessions on Carisbrook are the most pure memories I have from the game.
