All Blacks forward for whom ‘the sky’s the limit’ expecting fireworks against Springboks
Tupou Vaa'i during a New Zealand All Blacks training session at Lakeside Oval in Melbourne, Wednesday, September 14, 2022. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett) NO ARCHIVING ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **
After making four appearances as a replacement against South Africa, Tupou Vaa’i is set to make his first start for New Zealand against their arch rivals in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The highly rated second-rower’s previous matches against South Africa were short cameos in 2022 when the All Blacks lost in Mbombela and won in Johannesburg and he also came off the bench in a victory in Auckland and defeat in London last year.
Besides those encounters, Vaa’i was not in his country’s matchday squad when they suffered a narrow 12-11 to the Boks in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final in France.
Shone against Argentina at Eden Park
He comes into Saturday’s clash at Ellis Park after delivering a fine performance in the All Blacks’ 42-10 victory over Argentina at Eden Park a fortnight ago.
New Zealand lost the services of first choice locks Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu to injury for both of their Rugby Championship Tests against Los Pumas.
That meant Vaa’i packed down alongside the inexperienced Sam Darry in the second-row for those fixtures and after losing in Wellington, they bounced back with that impressive win in Auckland.
Vaa’i credits All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan and the team’s forensic psychiatrist for his impressive display in that second clash.
“I guess I had some pretty big shoes to fill, and I felt like I have done that,” said the 30-Test All Black. “I have had a lot of help with Jase and Ceri around my mental skills and obviously my locking partners Sam Darry and Josh Lord helped me out, which was awesome.”
Skipper Barrett is set to return to the three-time world champions’ starting line-up while the Boks suffered a blow when it was confirmed that their second-row star Eben Etzebeth will not be in action in Johannesburg.
That means he is the fifth South African lock who is unavailable for the match as Salmaan Moerat, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Jean Kleyn are also injured.
Although the Boks’ main enforcer will not be in action this weekend, Vaa’i still expects fireworks from the world champions and is prepared to meet that challenge head on.
“To be fair, I will definitely stand my ground,” he said. “As any player who plays rugby will do. Both players just want the best from their team, we will just have to see really.”
While Etzebeth’s absence will be welcomed by the All Blacks, Vaa’i will be focusing on his own game which has come on in leaps and bounds at the Chiefs where he spent most of his formative years alongside Brodie Retallick, before the All Blacks centurion headed off to Japan after last year’s World Cup to play his club rugby.
Benefited from stint with Retallick
Ryan believes playing regularly in the same team as Retallick has been beneficial to Vaa’i’s career.
“He [Retallick] has sort of set him up, and as did Sam Whitelock when he was at the All Blacks,” Ryan said.
“It is great to see those younger boys come in and take their opportunity and also play well. I thought he was outstanding in the second test against Argentina, probably played his best test match as an All Black.
“The sky’s the limit for him. It is exciting.”
