All Blacks star comes clean on addictions to drugs, alcohol and gambling that ruined his life

Former All Blacks star Zac Guildford has opened up about his addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling after being found guilty of stealing more than $100,000 from friends and family.

The winger won a 2010 World Cup with New Zealand and won 11 caps for the All Blacks, played in Super Rugby with the Hurricanes and Crusaders and played two seasons with French rugby powerhouse Clermont.

Off the field, however, his addictions derailed his life almost to the point of no return.

“Either I’m going to end up in jail where I don’t want to be, or I’m going to die, or I’m going to get my life back on track,” he told NewsHub.

‘And I thought right, I don’t want to die yet, I don’t want to end up in jail, and this [sobriety] is the only remaining option.

‘I’m sober. The last time I touched alcohol was on March 16, class A drugs a little before that, so early March, and with gambling I broke that off on April 17.’

In 2011, Guildford was accused of being naked and hitting strangers in a pub in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Last year, he pleaded guilty to hitting a woman in a taxi in Hamilton in 2019.

The 33-year-old won 11 caps for the All Blacks and won the Rugby World Cup in 2011

Guildford was found guilty of stealing more than $100,000 from friends and family

But of his addictions, gambling turned out to be by far the most expensive. Guildford estimates that he made a “few millions” of dollars during his career but “lost everything” through his addiction, admitting that he lost $25,000 on a single bet.

While Guildford gambled daily, he hid his addiction from family and friends.

“I didn’t want anyone to know I was a gambler, the most broke All Black of all time, so I hid that pretty well,” he said.

However, as his rugby career drew to a close – Guildford last played for the All Blacks in 2012 and, apart from a seven-game spell for the Waratahs, he has only played provincial rugby in the past six years – it got harder to cope with his gambling addiction. to fund.

Guildford played 18 games for the Hurricanes (above) in Super Rugby in 2008-09

Guildford sold his 2011 Rugby World Cup winner’s medal and then, without authorization, transferred $41,000 from his grandfather’s account to his own.

He screwed up gambling and his family eventually called the police on him. Guildford’s predicament was made worse by the fact that his grandfather had been a father figure since his father died when he was a teenager.

‘It was heavy. It was definitely one of the hardest moments of my life,” he said of his arrest.

“I didn’t know what to do, I abandoned my grandfather.”

He then moved to the Crusaders and spent four seasons at the Christchurch club

Faced with the prospect of his addiction being brought up in public in a court of law, Guildford tried to end his life and spent three nights in the hospital.

Despite the near escape, he continued to gamble, drink and use drugs until March, when he was convicted of fraud after stealing $41,000 from his grandfather and defrauding a $60,000 friend to fund his gambling addiction.

“It shows how powerful addiction is,” he said.

“It takes no prisoners, it takes everything from you, takes away your worth, your worth, everything you were before and leaves you naked on your own.

He played seven games for the Waratahs in 2016 before returning to provincial rugby

“It’s pretty hard to come back from.”

Guildford, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD, was sentenced to nine months of house arrest in Christchurch. Avoiding prison gave him the chance to “finally” get his life back on track and apologize to his grandfather.

He will return to rugby next year as a player coach at Woodend Rugby Club outside Christchurch and has partnered with the Broken Movement Trust, which help local communities.

However, he is under no illusions about the magnitude of the challenge that awaits him.

“This country is ruthless. It’s a tough place to get better,” he said.