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Scott Robertson’s message for Wallace Sititi before Bledisloe Cup opener
By Finn Morton
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has delivered a clear message to Wallace Sititi ahead of this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup opener: “Go and do it again.” Sititi was exceptional in the No. 6 jumper a fortnight ago in Cape Town and has retained his place for Saturday’s clash with the Wallabies.
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Before the second Test between the All Blacks and Springboks earlier this month, coach Robertson threw a selection curveball by naming Sititi at blindside flanker. The backrower had only played that role twice before at the professional level, and both were in the NPC.
South African journalists seemed unsure about who exactly the then 21-year-old was and wondered why ‘Razor’ had selected the loosie to start. But any doubts, queries or concerns were soon put to rest with the All Black putting on a show at DHL Stadium.
Sititi, who turned 22 on the day of that Test, finished equal-first with Springboks great Eben Etzebeth for the most carries out of any player with 16. The Samoa-born rugby talent also made two line breaks, ran for 30 metres, and was in double digits for tackles made as well.
If you were to poll All Blacks fans, most would likely weigh up whether Codie Taylor, Tupou Vaa’i or Sititi were the team’s best that night. Fans will want to see the same from the loosie on Saturday with Robertson naming Sititi at blindside for a second time.
“Go and do it again,” Robertson told reporters on Thursday.
“He’s got the ability to rise up to the occasion. He’s come through pretty quickly with his age and his ability to step up to the occasion. Just keep doing it, he’s so diligent.
“As you’ll get to know him along the way, he’s a good kid and a good pro.
“We’ve just been really, really impressed with him – the work he does off the field and Ardie’s taken him under his wing so it’s great that he can play all three loose forward positions.
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“Currently he’s at six but that doesn’t mean he’ll finish there.”
Former All Black Jeff Wilson questioned on The Breakdown earlier this week whether Sititi should shift to No. 8 as a replacement for Ardie Savea. Savea – who is World Rugby’s reigning Player of the Year – could theoretically shift back to openside flanker as part of this change.
Robertson confirmed that All Blacks selectors have “considered” that.
Ethan Blackadder could potentially return to the starting side to fill the then-vacant role on the blindside of the scrum, but for now, the 29-year-old continues to battle a niggly hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Cape Town Test as well.
“We considered that. We know Ardie can play seven and Wallace has played a lot at eight. (But) other than the scrum, you’ve just got to play footy really,” Robertson explained.
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“It has been considered, but for this Test, we’ve picked an experienced group – a group that’s played recently together and played Bledisloe Cup matches and it’s a sign of respect to the Aussies.
“The last week is irrelevant. It’s this week and what’s going to be head-to-head.”
Are we seeing a new Michael Jones?
There were a couple of bad feeds against South Africa resulting int the scrum cartwheeling backwards so I hope Ratima, Sititi, and Barrett have been working on creating a channel for the ball!!
Can't wait to see him at 8 Blackadder 6 Ardie 7.