'Right up there with the world's best': All Black lock hitting new heights

One of the standouts of the challenging 2024 season has been the emergence of Tupou Vaa'i, who forwards coach Jason Ryan has praised as one of the "world's best".

The All Blacks have managed injuries to Blues lock Patrick Tuipulotu and captain Scott Barrett throughout parts of 2024, opening the door for the younger second rows to take the lead.

Sam Darry impressed in parts against Argentina but it has been Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i who has gone to another level after the two Tests against South Africa. Vaa'i was disruptive at the Springboks' lineout and a force at the breakdown and around the park, winning loose ball and ruck penalties.

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan said he's been the form All Black forward and is now knocking on the door of the "world's best" conversation.

"I think he's been exceptional," forwards coach Jason Ryan said of Vaa'i.

"I think he's, you know, probably been one of the in-form All Black forwards, in his area, in this test season.

"It's a continuation, he had great form for the Chiefs. And, you know, he's well established in the Test arena now.

"And he's right up there with the world's best. And it's a real credit to him. He's becoming a man, I guess. And you know, his future is all still in front of him, that's for sure.

"So it's exciting, and I'm really proud of Tups of how he has taken the bull by the horns, and been exceptional mentally."

The 24-year-old's rise through international rugby has paid off. The All Blacks invested in Vaa'i in 2020, handing him a debut as a young 20-year-old.

There has been some bumps along the way, like the 2023 Rugby World Cup pool game against France where Vaa'i was thrown in the deep end as a blindside flanker.

But now four years later he has became an integral part of the second row. Scott Robertson revealed he has been running the All Blacks' lineout calls.

With starting hooker Codie Taylor on the field, the lineout has been operating at a near perfect completion rate, a testament to Vaa'i's growing influence.

Ryan explained that the form of the pair was the main reason that the bench was used sparingly in the Cape Town Test.

"Codie Taylor was on fire. So why bring him off? Tupou Vaa'i was also on fire, and Fletcher Newell tweaked his calf in the warm up and stirred it up at half-time," he said on why Asafo Aumua, Sam Darry, and Newell saw limited action. 

"So there's your three answers for that.

"But I think how you use your bench, you got to be careful around what's pre-planned and what's actually relative to what's happening in front of you. And I think that's a balance.

"And as coaches, we've talked around how we can have the best impact from our bench.

"I think I said after the first Test, we've got some younger men that are that are learning their trade in the Test arena.

So how we bring them on into what the game's actually doing is important for their confidence as well."

Whilst Ryan was relatively happy from the progression of the forward pack's performance from Johannesburg to Cape Town, he wants the pack to strive higher for more.

"The next steps got to be one that's forward," Ryan put bluntly.

"And I think that, you know, against the Australian pack, it'll need to be, I think, around our scrum, I believe we can get a little bit more more out of that.

"And I also believe we can get better quality ball at our lineout for the backs. So that's, you know, an area that will be a focus, and probably the breakdown, I'm naming and everything here, but the carry and clean, you know, they've got good jackals across the ground."