The new life of Regan King, the legend of the Scarlets, who defended herself from the edge of the abyss

In his prime, Regan King was a rugby genius, a player who made an often overly complicated game look simple.

In an era where more is better, with greater emphasis on winning in the touch zone, King was a throwback to a bygone era where skill and quick thinking trumped everything else.

When people are asked who is the best foreign player to ever play Welsh rugby, you can bet your bottom dollar king will top most lists.

Untouchable on the field during his time at Scarlets and after a European campaign that saw West Welsh become the first team to progress through the group stage unbeaten, Sky Sports commentator and England World Cup winner Will Greenwood named the New Zealander in your world. XV.

But life hasn’t been easy for the fast-paced center that has battled the gambling problem behind closed doors.

Speaking from his home in southwest France, King, who has now turned his life around after admitting he has hit rock bottom, speaks candidly about his past struggles with gambling addiction and how he hopes to help others who suffer from similar ailments.

“It’s been a tough few years to be honest with you and I was at rock bottom when I left Welsh rugby in 2019 because I was known to have a gambling problem,” he admits.

“When I was at the Scarlets I played the best rugby of my career and enjoyed my time there, but off the field it can be difficult for me.

“Gambling is an easy trap to fall into and the problem is that, unlike other addictions like alcoholism, it is not evident from the outside, so people around you, like your co-workers, may not know that you are there is a problem.

“This can make it difficult to get help because you often don’t realize you have a problem.

“When you’re a young professional athlete from a poor background and all of a sudden you have all this money in your bank account, it can be overwhelming sometimes and you don’t have a lot of guidance on how to spend your money wisely.

“I think it was mostly out of boredom for me. Some guys were playing on their consoles, but I was invested in something.

“You start small, and when you hit the big one, you’re hooked.”

To his credit, King realized he had a problem, and like all challenges in his playing career, he tackled it head-on.

Leaving Welsh rugby, where he was playing semi-professionally for Neath at the time, King headed for Western Australia.

It was in Perth that his life changed after months of therapy and meeting his current partner, who helped the former All Blacks to get back on his feet.

“I had months of therapy in Perth and it was the best thing I’ve ever done,” he said.

“I received a lot of support from my family and friends and I met my current partner, who played a very important role in changing my life.

“I think there needs to be better support for rugby players who have problems with gambling.

“My advice to anyone suffering from addiction is to talk to someone, because talking helps a lot.

“I know it’s hard to do, but there’s always help.

“Now I have completely changed and am in a much better place.

“I moved to France with my French partner, where she works as a chiropractor, and I am enjoying life again.”

Despite the challenges he faced, King fondly remembers his time in Wales.

After starring for the Waikato Chiefs in the then Super 12 in 2003, he won his only New Zealand cap, ironically against Wales in Cardiff, where he tried to be man of the match.

Injury prevented the talented playmaker from adding a game to his tally and he soon found himself outside his comfort zone in Paris, playing for Stade Française.

“I signed for the Stade Française as a wild card doctor, but for a young man from the New Zealand countryside I suffered a lot with life in Paris, especially with the language,” he said.

“I told my agent to get me out of there and one of the interested clubs was Scarlets.

“I didn’t know much about them but I was friends with an ex-All Black called Alistair Scone who played against Llanelli when they beat New Zealand in 1972.

“I met Stuart Gallagher and Gareth Jenkins and after a conversation I knew Llanelli was the right club for me.

“I really enjoyed living in a relatively small town where rugby was a way of life and it just took off.

“Playing for Gareth Jenkins was a great experience and he is one of the best motivators I have ever known. Every time you took the field, you just wanted to play for him.

“I remember my first practice at Scarlets was pre-season and it was a gym session at Gorseynon. When I got there, Vernon Cooper and Chris Wyatt were outside having a cigarette, but Chris was still calling.”

“The social aspect of playing at Llanelli was great too and we had some crazy nights let me tell you, but that was before social media got so big you could get away with it.

King was one of the few players that people would pay to watch, and his magical style of play had the crowds going.

The Scarlets built a team around King and although they didn’t have enough strikers to physically take on Europe’s biggest groups, they always had a chance when the New Zealander wove his magic in midfield.

Simply put, he made the impossible possible.

“When I was growing up in New Zealand, I played contact rugby,” said King.

“I’ve never been the type of player to look for contact, I’ve been trying to avoid it and I’ve been paying a lot of attention to developing my passing game.

“I was much more satisfied with putting players in space than trying to score myself.

“Gareth Jenkins and Phil Davies after him gave us the freedom to play and when Dwayne Peele and Stephen Jones were running the show, my life was so much easier.”

The highlight of King’s Scarlets’ career undoubtedly came in the 2006/07 season, when the Welsh side beat everyone ahead of them on the Heineken Cup stage, beating Munster in the quarter-finals at a thrilling Strady Park before being overtaken by Leicester. Tigers in the semifinals.

Indeed, King starred in one of the greatest games in European rugby history, as the Scarlets overcame a 21-point deficit against French giants Toulouse to win 41-34 at the Stade Ernest Vallon.

King almost single-handedly put the Scarlets into the game with three points at their disposal, with a brilliant 50-yard break setting up Nathan Thomas’ winning try.

“That season was magical and I probably enjoyed rugby more than I ever have in my career,” he recalls.

“The rugby we played was amazing and we all believed in that. But the Toulouse match was something else.

“I remember even though we were very late at the break we still believed we could do it and because it was so fast and loose it gave us a chance.

“Alix Popham put us in front with an incredible record that he would have missed nine times out of 10, but luckily this time the ball was in her hands and Darren Daniel scored.

“When Barry Davies scored, we knew we were going to win. On the last play the score was tied and I saw Stephen Jones come back into the pocket for a drop goal from the middle.

“I dropped back in case there was a knockdown but Stephen passed me the ball. I could always see a few stages ahead and noticed a gap so I decided to take it and it was worth it.

“This victory was huge because Toulouse were a real force at the time and nobody won alone.

“The quarter final against Munster at Strady Park was probably even better. They were the defending champions and we broke them up and there were maybe 70,000 people in the Stray that day because the atmosphere was so intense.

“We couldn’t finish the job and lost in the semi-final to Leicester. The following seasons were very difficult as Phil Davies, our manager at the time, was sacked and the club’s financial difficulties prevented us from being successful.

Having made such an impact on Welsh rugby, it has led many journalists and fans alike to ask the inevitable question; And if I hadn’t played for New Zealand that time, would I have played for Wales?

“To be honest, earning an All Blacks cap meant the world to me,” he said.

“I love Wales and I loved it when I lived there, but my goal was to play for New Zealand and I got that.

“I don’t regret it because if I had stayed in New Zealand I wouldn’t have had the amazing experiences I had playing in Wales and France with Stade Française and Clermont.

So what’s next for the 42-year-old?

“I’m really looking forward to starting training at a professional level,” he said.

Now I’m coaching young people at a small club in France and I love it. All my problems are behind me and I think I still have a lot to offer.

“During my second stint with the Scarlets, I talked to Wayne Pivac about becoming a skills coach, but that never came to pass.

“I worked a lot with Foxy (Jonathan Davies) helping him develop his skills when he was on Scarlets and I knew from a very young age that he was going to be a superstar.

“I have some irons in the fire here in France, but not necessarily in the top 14 or PRO D2, I’m open to opportunities anywhere.

“The game is very physically focused and I think as a coach I can make a difference by working on the offensive side of things and with individual players in their abilities.

“I would like to help teams play smarter and use space to gain extra yards, not make contact for the sake of making contact which often means a missed opportunity.”

Given King’s track record as a player, the club could do a lot worse than having the former All Black on their books.

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