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Tuivasa-Sheck's union gamble finally paying off
By AAP
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck considers it a major achievement to be suiting up for his first start for the All Blacks in what is still his debut season in rugby union.
Less than a year after making the switch to rugby union, former NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is moving ever closer to realising his All Blacks Rugby World Cup dream.
The 29-year-old abandoned a flourishing rugby league career at the end of 2021 in a bid to land a place in the New Zealand squad for next year's World Cup in France.
Despite some in New Zealand feeling he has not been used enough by the All Blacks this season, the former NRL star is happy with his progress, which takes another step on Saturday when he suits up in Tokyo for his first start with the national team.
"This is another massive chapter in my learnings for this year," the fleet-footed centre told Stuff Media.
"I've made the crossover from rugby league, and the ultimate dream is to be part of that World Cup squad next year.
"It was just a bonus to be called up this year, and I'm stoked to be getting a Test match start.
"I've got to enjoy every moment and opportunity I can."
But for his decision to switch codes, Tuivasa-Sheck would be lining up for his country in a Rugby League World Cup match against Ireland in Leeds later on Friday.
Tuivasa-Sheck said being parted from his family during the COVID-19 pandemic when the New Zealand Warriors relocated to Australia, had been a key factor in deciding to give the 15-man game a go.
"I made the decision I was going to risk all or nothing and try my luck at rugby union," he said.
"I'm just so happy to line up with a World Cup that's there to be chased.
"I back myself to chase it and then return back home to be with my family."
Tuivasa-Sheck will win his third cap against the Brave Blossoms at Tokyo's National Stadium on Saturday in a makeshift centre partnership alongside Braydon Ennor.
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Finau is definitely operating on razor thin margins. He hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. But a player going into contact 6 inches lower than he is expecting, without him even knowing, will end in disaster. You can imagine a situation where the pass dies on Edmed and he has to bend down a little lower to catch it at the last second. Finau’s hit would have been catastrophic. The margins are just too fine. He needs to study how PSDT, at 6’7”, manages to drop his tackle height and exert just as much force with close zero danger of taking someone’s head off. Given how poorly NZ has adapted to lower their tackle height, and that this issue which has plagued the ABs for years and played a big part in them not winning the World Cup, I thought NZR and all SR coaches would be prioritising sorting this issue out. If I was Razor I would be on the phone to Clayton MacMillan and Samipeni Finau saying exactly that. Finau is a monster and shaping up to be the closest thing to Kaino since Kaino, but I wouldn’t risk selecting him for the ABs at the moment.
Go to commentsThe surprising stat I saw in the Blues game when showing Sotutu equaling the Blues forwards record was that Akira has not scored a try since 2019. Now my memory is pretty bad when it comes to those sorts of the things, I can remember his AB try though, but anyway I can’t see I can remember his last blues touchdown or any in recent years. Surely that still has to be a bogus stat. Maybe excludes SRA games?
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