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Just a few months ago, Tupou Vaa’i was helping his father build wooden fences in Auckland during the first Covid-19 shutdown.
The New Zealand Under-20 lockout and Taranaki had no Super Rugby contract, before Chiefs CEO Michael Collins got on the phone and sent his career through the roof. Summoned as a replacement due to injury, Vaa’i made his debut for coach Warren Gatland’s team against the Highlanders in June.
“It is quite strange. I was working with my father during level 3, then I got a call from the CEO asking if he would come and play for the team, ”Vaa’i said.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
The young Tupou Vaa’i looked like the place for the North against the South, and made the 35-man All Blacks team of Ian Foster.
A few hours earlier on Sunday, Vaa’i apologized to his roommate Beauden Barrett for waking him up at his Wellington hotel while nervously waiting for the call from All Blacks manager Darren Shand.
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He arrived around 8 a.m., and told the 20-year-old that he was on coach Ian Foster’s 35-man All Blacks squad as one of seven no-limit players.
And, born January 27, 2000, Vaa’i is on his way to being the first All Black born in the 2000s when, or if, he joins the club that boasts 1185. His rookie partner Cullen Grace, the flanker of the Crusaders, he was born on December 20, 1999.
“I got up early thinking I would have an early flight home, but I’m excited,” said Vaa’i, who closed the North scrum with Patrick Tuipulotu against South on Saturday night, and wore the role.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Beauden Barrett is likely to don the Taranaki jersey again in the coming weeks.
He is now flying to Taranaki with a new All Blacks team to rejoin his provincial team with the Barrett brothers, Beauden and Jordie, potentially next door, against Sam Cane and Bay of Plenty in their first Miter 10 Cup game in Inglewood. on Sunday.
“It’s very exciting. I think Beaudy hasn’t played a Miter 10 game since 2012, so it’s very special to be racing with those guys in the weeks ahead. “
The 1.98 meter tall Vaa’i and former head prefect of the prominent Wesley College rugby nursery in south Auckland was one of four named locks at Foster’s 35 alongside Tuipulotu, Sam Whitelock and Quinten Strange, currently outcast .
Foster said that he had seen Vaa’i for the past 18 months.
“He is a very physical young man, he has good stature and good size and he is really competent and calm on set and does not get too nervous.
Masanori Udagawa / Getty Images
Captain Sam Cane with Tupou Vaa’i and fellow All Blacks Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan, Hoskins Sotutu and Patrick Tuipulotu in Wellington on Sunday.
“In the park he has very good intuition. She knows what to do and makes very good decisions. Clearly at 20 she has a lot to develop, but she weighs 115-116kg and has a great body and good skills. “
Foster’s entire team, injury permitting, is in Miter 10 Cup service for the first two rounds at least, pending the All Blacks testing schedule finally being established.
That includes Cane, who was announced as Foster’s captain in May, led the Chiefs in their winless campaign at Aotearoa, then suffered a concussion in a collision with Jordie Barrett against the Hurricanes on Aug. 8.
The skipper was in Wellington for North-South preparation and at the team announcement Sunday, declaring himself symptom-free and ready to return for the BOP against Taranaki.
“The first couple of weeks after the hit it was a little high and low with some headaches and a little tired towards the end of the day,” Cane said.
“I followed the protocols and rested until I felt good and started doing some exercise the last few weeks, and I really picked it up this last week or so. I’ve been feeling really good and I hope to wear that Bay jersey next weekend. “
Cane, a Reporoa born and raised BOP, last appeared for his home province in 2016. According to himself, he played “terribly,” returning from a hamstring injury.
“After debuting for the BOP when I was 18, looking at some of the old guys on the wall, I was hoping to get to 50 games, but I’ve been stranded in my 20s,” Cane said.
“That’s the way professional rugby has evolved during that time. It will be great to come back. I’ll have to get the old jacket out of the closet and dust it off. “
