All Blacks star Patrick Tuipulotu re-signs with New Zealand Rugby
No one bothered to look for silver linings in the dark cloud of defeat that hung over Yokohama Stadium last year when the All Blacks were knocked out of the World Cup semifinal.
Such an exercise in futility was never going to appeal, but one has cropped up nevertheless.
Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu probably would have today been announcing he was leaving New Zealand had it not been for that 19-7 loss to England.
That defeat changed the course of his personal history. Not entirely on its own though. The genuine revival at the Blues which saw them top the New Zealand Conference before the lockdown pushed him further along the path to staying and then of course there was the impact of the Coronavirus.
It was the perfect storm and from reaching September last year, almost certain 2020 would be his last season in New Zealand, the 27-year old Blues captain is now going to be staying here until at least 2023.
“Before the World Cup I had the one year left and if we had won, things probably would have changed and I would probably have gone overseas and set myself some new challenges,” he says.
“But coming into this year it changed even more given how well things were going at the Blues.
“There was interest from overseas but in the end with everything going on with Covid – how it was impacting in Japan and Europe – it was pretty scary. My partner and I have been together for a while now and we may want to start a family in the next few years and so I thought where do I want to set myself up, my family up, and I thought New Zealand is probably the best place to do that right now.”
Players hate being judged for their career choices but it’s inevitable that it will happen and around the country, there will be knowledgeable heads nodding slowly to signal that they feel Tuipulotu has made a wise decision.
Something happened last year to Tuipulotu. It was almost as if he had an epiphany of sorts, saw a way to transform himself from a talented but inconsistent performer into a genuinely dominating, international class lock.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZ2DRGgaAj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
One minute no one was sure about him, the next he was a player the nation wanted to see in big tests where his giant frame could smash the last resistance out of tired opponents.
His moment of arrival was the second Bledisloe Cup test in Auckland where he was intensely destructive, not in isolated blasts as was too often the case in the earlier part of his career, but for the duration.
At Eden Park that night he looked like he knew he was playing to save his All Blacks career and it’s a mentality he hasn’t lost. Since August last year, Tuipulotu has been impressive – imposing and resilient, aware almost that he’s a big man with the capacity to hurt teams if he believes in himself and increases his output.
He was still the fourth-choice lock behind Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett, but the gap had closed.
“In terms of flicking the switch, it is disappointing that it took me that long to understand things,” he says. “I have probably had a longer learning curve than others.
“Early on in my career there were games where I would do one physical thing and then be silent for the rest of the game. But if you look at the top players, they dominate physically the whole game not just for one instance.
“The way I play rugby is to try to dominate my position. You see guys performing week in week out where they want to dominate and use what they have got and fight for every inch, I am still working on that. But it is something I enjoy – the big collisions.”
He’s got three years to work on it in New Zealand now and he’s got absolute clarity about what he wants to achieve and how to do it.
He’s a man on the rise. A player with the physical goods and now the mental desire and if he’s well handled in the next three years, he’ll climb up that national pecking order.
Tucked away, and certain to power him, is a fierce memory from Yokohama. Tuipulotu was on the bench that night and probably left there too long.
It hurt the All Blacks not injecting him earlier, but there is a delayed reward of sorts to collect from that mistake.
New Zealand-born @wallabies prop Jermaine Ainsley will return to his homeland after signing a two-season deal with the @Highlanders. https://t.co/eT35r86DAG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 15, 2020
“That’s something on my mind,” says Tuipulotu. “I was sitting on the bench wondering when I was going to get on because I was getting an inch and thinking that if I got on I could make an impact straight away. I was hungry for it.
“That is something that drives me and motivates me to have another crack where I am not on the bench or pushing myself to not be on the bench.
“That opportunity has always been there to push. It has been up to me that if I really want it I now what I have to do.
“I have to play out of my skin and do that consistently and that will take care of itself. I have never thought ‘he’s better than me and this is what I will have to do to be better than him’.
“That’s the thing you can only get so far being nice. Growing up my dad would never praise me that much and I think that is where I get it from. I would be happy with anything. You are playing professional sport and it’s not going to be fair. It’s cut throat so you have to take it as far as you can.
“You are allowed to be a different person when you play. Off the field you can be yourself and be humble again.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments