Justin Marshall is pleased that he was proven wrong by Dave Rennie’s selection of Tupou Vaa’i at blindside flanker for the All Blacks’ clash against Ireland.
The Chiefs forward is primarily a lock but was deployed in the number six jumper in New Zealand’s final Nations Championship clash this July at Eden Park against the Irish and put in a strong performance as the All Blacks charged to a 40-21 victory.
Marshall had his reservations about the selection in the build-up to the match as he believed that Vaa’i was better suited to start in the second-row in Rennie’s team. Instead, the head coach welcomed the return of Patrick Tuipulotu from injury and selected him alongside Josh Lord.
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The Blues veteran played 57 minutes on his return for the All Blacks, scored a try and got through a ton of work around the park. His shift caught the eye of legendary winger Jeff Wilson, who believes that he is just the kind of player that New Zealand needs for the Tests against the Springboks next month.
“The rivalry with Ireland was a bit underplayed during the week by everybody, because we shouldn’t forget what Ireland has done to us in recent times, and they came to New Zealand with a lot of confidence,” Wilson said on Sky Sport NZ’s Breakdown show.
“There were several players who were presented with massive opportunities. I want to talk about one in particular, and that’s Patrick Tuipulotu because, for me, we’ve not cited him. In fact, he’d hardly played any Super Rugby, and then the moment you thought he was going to get back out there, he picked up a niggly calf injury.
“So what do they do? They trust him to go out and start at lock against Ireland, and he has an outstanding shift. Now I never expected him to play 80 minutes. I thought he would go 40, 45, 50 and Tupou Vaa’i would slot back into the lock position, but for me, a statement was made. He is a big body who we are going to need in South Africa. I think they recognised that and it was impressive.
“So I think there were several players that were presented with opportunities. Quinn Tupaea was one at centre, prove yourself. Patrick, prove yourself.”
Dave Rennie’s Tupou Vaa’i experiment
The panel’s discussion then turned to Rennie’s trial of Vaa’i at blindside flanker in the fixture in Auckland. Wilson was wary of getting too carried away after just one game but believes that he could be the player to take on the number six jersey going forward.
“Off the back of that performance, I don’t want to get caught up in recency bias, but knowing what’s in front of us and coming up, I’d like to think they continue with him there,” the ex-winger said.
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“There are a lot of similar-type athletes, Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi, but they don’t have the size that Tupou Vaa’i has. I liken him more to Shannon Frizell, who’s a bigger, taller body, a genuine lineout option. He has that ability to dent the line in the inside and match a little bit of fire with fire. And the competitiveness for me.
“I liked it; I thought he delivered. He was a guy who people had question marks about. He put his hand up, and he looked great in the outside channel. That was the first question, and man, he’s got some big strides.”
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Marshall admits he had his doubts about Vaa’i playing on the side of the scrum and in the wider channels for the side, but he was happy to be proven wrong.
“I had some question marks, and I did say that in our previous show. I said I know why, and they explained the selection, but my problem for him is playing lock; he goes narrow, and he’ll gravitate towards the ruck,” the former number nine explained.
“His ball skill was going to be questioned. He completely proved me wrong, and I’m glad he did.
“If you watch the movements in the game, he operated on the edges really well. His carries were good, his offloads were there, and then the physicality and the lineout execution were perfect. Absolutely rapt that they got that selection right, and it’s a real consideration now moving forward. I’m happy to be proven wrong. Doesn’t happen very often.”
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