All Blacks newbie reveals Jamie Joseph’s role leading to Ma’a Nonu comparisons and Scott Robertson call
All Blacks inside centre Timoci Tavatavanawai and Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph.
New All Blacks backline star Timoci Tavatavanawai has spoken about what it felt like to be called up to Scott Robertson’s squad for their upcoming series against France in New Zealand.
The men in black will kick off their 2025 international campaign against Les Bleus at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on July 5 before they clash at Sky Stadium in Wellington and FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton in the remaining Tests on July 12 and 19, respectively.
Tavatavanawai, who has shone at inside centre in 2025, was one of five uncapped players named in a 33-man All Blacks squad – along Highlanders team-mate Fabian Holland (lock), Hurricanes flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi and Chiefs front-rowers Ollie Norris (prop) and Brodie McAlister (hooker) – and revealed that Robertson battled to get hold of him to give him the good news.
“I missed the call first,” he told the Highlanders Super Rugby channel on YouTube. “I was doing some gardening at home, went to get the sprayer, but it was broken, so I had to go get my phone to go to Mitre 10 (hardware store company).
‘One phone call you don’t want to miss’
“Then trying to connect to Bluetooth on my ear, then I saw the message in the message call, and I was like: ‘Holy! One phone call you don’t want to miss.’
“I called him straight away, man. I called him straight away, and when he was talking to me, the only word that I was saying was ‘vinaka’, it means thank you in Fijian.
“I was just like: ‘Vinaka, vinaka, vinaka, vinaka, vinaka.’
“I was just lost for words, though. It was unreal. What a moment.”
The Fijian-born star said his late father, who was a big influence on his formative years as a rugby player, was the first person he thought of after receiving the news of his All Blacks call-up from Robertson.
“My old man was the first person that I think about,” added Tavatavanawai. “He’s been there, he’s the one who bestowed the (All Blacks) dream to me.
“He said that I’ve already done my time in Fiji, you know, under 18s and under 20s, and then it’s time to make your mark somewhere else.
“So, the first person that I thought about was my old man, to be honest.”
Although Tavatavanawai revealed that being called up to the All Blacks squad was a wonderful achievement, he admitted that there was a time that he thought he would never achieve that goal.
“I think 2021 was the moment when I was down there kind of trying to throw everything away,” he said. “I lost my old man 2021 and was just kind of trying to throw the dream away.
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“I just (wanted) go back home (to Fiji), you know, take a year off.”
However, he reminded himself of what his father wanted him to achieve in the game and decided to remain focused on his goal.
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‘That’s not the way you’ve got to go down’
“But I kept reminding myself that that’s the one thing that he would not like,” said Tavatavanawai.
“That’s not the way you’ve got to go down. So I put a new picture in my head of my two younger siblings, how they feel, how they react and because they usually look up to me.
“So, that’s my lowest point was when I lost my old man 2021, then (it was) kind of the turning point for myself too.”
The 27-year-old soon made his mark on the wing for Moana Pasifika in 2022 and 2023 before joining the Highlanders in 2024 and his world changed at the Dunedin-based outfit earlier this year when Jamie Joseph took over the coaching reins and moved him to inside centre – a decision which has been rewarded with an All Blacks call-up.
He was asked if his positional switch was an important factor in him becoming an All Black and replied: “I think so. That kind of gave me a step towards the black jersey.
“By the (number of) starts (in that position) and the amount of midfielders we have at the ‘Landers, you know, the quality players we have.”
Tavatavanawai revealed that he initially received mixed signals from the Highlanders coaching staff about playing at inside centre but eventually settled into the position.
“I didn’t know I was going to be there,” he explained.
“I was kind of like the last string, the what-if, you know, because I told them in one of my meetings there, (that I’m) just trying to learn the role and trying to cover it and they told me that I’m not going to play there.
“Then the following pre-season they put me at 12. I was like: ‘Mate, you just told me a couple of days ago not to worry about it.'”
Although the Highlanders finished at the bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific table, Tavatavanawai shone at inside centre and his excellent play soon earned him comparisons to All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu.
And he is forever grateful to Joseph for backing him with the positional switch.
“But to be honest I love playing at 12, (it’s) something that I’ve been wanting to play,” he added.
“And for him (Joseph) to have the belief in me to play 12, it’s kind of a step closer to the black jersey and pretty special to have him believe in me in that jersey.”
