Former league star Peachey in line for King Country

Former Australian rugby league player David Peachey will relocate temporarily to Taupo as he seeks a regular place in the King Country rugby team for this year's Heartland championship.

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The Cronulla Sharks National Rugby League (NRL) stalwart, who retired from league in 2007, will initially play for the King Country Development team to help ease his transition to the code.

King Country Rugby Union chief executive Dave Trewavas today said the plan was for Peachey to play two or three matches for the Development side as an outside back or fullback before Heartland coach Brett Coombe decided whether he was ready to step up to the full provincial team.

Peachey, 36, trialled for King Country at centre in a pre-season match against a Northland Development 15 last Saturday in Taupo but foul weather meant he had limited involvement in the match.

"He'll have two or three games for the Development team then we'll see where we go from there," Trewavas said.

"If he's capable of making the step up we will go through that process then."

Peachey, whose New Zealand wife originates from Taupo, was approached about a possible switch to the union ranks during a recent visit to the central North Island town to further plans to stage a Cronulla NRL match there.

The couple will now settle in Taupo until Christmas.

Peachey played a little more than half of the match against the Northland Development side, with Trewavas saying the one-time capped Kangaroos league international was steady.

"It was a shocking day weather-wise so he didn't have too much to but. But what he did he did well.

"We felt the sensible process going forward was for him to play a couple of games for the Development team first.

"We are not paying him. He's doing this because his wife is from Taupo and they want to get out of the Sydney lifestyle for a few months."

Peachey played 257 NRL games until 2007, mostly for Cronulla. He also made four State of Origin for New South Wales and played once for Australia.

Meanwhile, King Country have enlisted former All Blacks first five-eighth and Kiwis league international Frano Botica as a skills coach to work with the Heartland side as well as the province's age group representative teams.