Christian Cullen opens up about his family’s toughest year

Christian Cullen is competing for a charity close to his heart. Photo / Matt Klitscher
Former All Black Christian Cullen is considered the greatest full-back of modern rugby, scoring over 150 tries while playing in New Zealand. And while he’s shied away from the spotlight since his retirement in 2007, he’s returned to our screens to make his mark in another piece of New Zealand history – Celebrity Treasure Island.
Jenni Mortimer sits down with the legend to talk about the personal cause that’s found him castaway on Te Whanganui-o-Hei.
“The wife, [Mandy] we lost her brother a year and a half ago,” reveals Cullen, admitting his reason for saying yes to the Celebrity Treasure Island call-up was rooted deeply in that tragedy.
The 48-year-old wanted a chance to raise funds for Brain Tumour Support New Zealand, following the loss of brother-in-law Brooke to an aggressive brain tumour.
“Brooke was living his best life in Aussie. And reasonably young – you know, forties – went through chemo and operations. And, in the end passed away a year and a half ago,” says Cullen.
But the number 15 admits it’s a “pretty cool” feeling to now be on the show raising funds and awareness for a charity helping others going through the same thing.
“Whether you make no money or ten grand for the charity, I guess it’s more about awareness. Because there’s a lot of young people going through brain tumours,” shares Cullen, noting that a lot of patients find themselves having to travel for treatments.
“It’s really tough for some families – they’ve got to rely on the charities for the extra help.”
And it’s the charity element of the game that has Cullen counting his own blessings; “All these charities here today – all these people with the charities – all you want for your family and kids is to be happy and healthy.”
The fullback’s tight-knit family and his four kids, 11, 13, 14 and 15, not only fuel his motivation but keep him “very very busy”.
“I love, going to watch them, if they do really well in something. So that’s probably a big motivator for me.”
While right now those interests are largely rugby and cheerleading for his two boys and two girls, Cullen says he doesn’t care where those passions take them, as long as they are content.
“Not that I want the boys to be All Blacks or whatever – I just want them to be happy and whether it’s rugby or whatever,” he says.
And he knows too well just what it’s like to go through the wins and losses that come with life. Cullen suffered a severe knee injury in 2001 that was a major setback for a player whose skillset centred around his explosive speed.
“Injuries were tough, always, because you want to be playing, but you get an injury and then you get back, come back and you get another one,” shares Cullen.
At the end of 2003, Cullen moved to Ireland where he played for Munster, but his time with the club saw him plagued with injuries, including a shoulder injury that limited his appearances.
“When I went to Ireland, to go over to play with a new team, new club, then I was out for six months straight away, and then an injury on top of that one, and then it’s another six months,” he says, recalling the pressure he felt in an unfamiliar new city.
“That builds a bit of resilience, and you’re on the other side of the world, so you ain’t got your true mates – your hometown mates.
“You work hard, you try hard, and you give it your 100%, and then if that’s not good enough, sometimes someone’s just better. That’s life, eh? There are people that are just better, and you’ve just got to try and work harder to get them next time.”
Cullen played his last match for Munster in April 2007 before announcing his retirement from rugby and returning home to New Zealand.
“Everybody loves to win. Hates to lose. But I’ve chilled – I’m pretty chilled anyway, but I’ve chilled out more. I play a lot of golf but when I was young, you used to get reasonably angry,” he laughs.
And as for his role on Celebrity Treasure Island, well he’s planning on tapping into that chilled-out persona even more.
“I’m pretty relaxed, so not too much will phase me, but that could change if you’re only eating rice and you start losing challenges and then we’ll probably see a few real characters come out.”
As for island prep, well Cullen says that the fear of being shirtless on national television was enough to see him put a little effort, but not too much.
“I didn’t go get a spray tan or hair implants or, I mean I ate just eat a bit cleaner – just in case you have to take your shirt off and you’re running down the beach,” he jests.
And despite all the travel that came with his sporting career, Cullen may have fallen victim to a CTI rookie error – underpacking
“I’m reasonably underprepared,” he laughs, “my bag today was only half full – it seems like everybody else has got a full bag. I don’t know if they’ve taken too much or I’ve taken too little.”
So what does he hope people will learn about the new Christian Cullen off the field and in the CTI arena?
“I’ve always been, ‘play rugby, go home, lay low’. So hopefully that I’m chilled out, humble and cruisy. I don’t pretend to be somebody. That’s always me walking to a room and I’d rather stand in the corner and just chill out than be the person that’s, ‘look at me’. That’s just not me.”
Celebrity Treasure Island NZ premieres on September 9, TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+
Jenni Mortimer is the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle and travel editor. Jenni started at the Herald in 2017 and previously worked as an education publication editor. She’s a one-time Celebrity Treasure Island castaway and mum to a 5-year-old son who she loves taking on adventures across the globe.