'Don't have the size': Tupou Vaa'i favoured to play blindside against the Springboks

Ex-All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Justin Marshall believe that Tupou Vaa’i has secured the No.6 jersey to face the Springboks based on his performance against Ireland at Eden Park.

Vaa’i has been tried at blindside for the All Blacks under the previous two coaches, but his best international performances have come at lock with unconvincing showings on the flank.

Against Ireland Vaa’i produced his best yet as a back rower, roaming the wide channels and breaking tackles as a bigger body finding mismatches.

Knowing what the All Blacks will face in South Africa, Wilson believed that Vaa’i has checked the box as the perfect option to combat a large Springbok pack.

“On the back of that performance, and 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,” Wilson said of Tupou Vaa’i on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.

“There are a lot of similar type athletes, Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi, but they don’t have the size that Tupou Vaa’i has.

“And to me, I liken him more to Shannon Frizell, who’s a bigger body, a taller body, a genuine lineout option, and just that ability, I think, to dent the line on the inside and match a little bit of fire with fire, and the competitiveness.

“I liked it. I thought he delivered. He was a guy who people had question marks. He put up his hand, and he looked great in the outside channel. That was the first question. And man, he’s got some big strides.”

Vaa’i finished with 12 carries for 32 running metres, 14 tackles, while adding three lineout takes as an extra option at set-piece.

Ex-All Black halfback Justin Marshall had questioned if Vaa’i’s skillset in the lead up to the match suited playing in the loose forwards, but ultimately was happy to be proven wrong.

“I had some question marks, and I did say that in our previous show on Thursday night,” Marshall said.

“I said, look, I know why, they’ve explained the selection, but my problem for him is playing block. He goes narrow, and he’ll gravitate towards the rucks and his ball skills as well is going to be questioned.

“He completely proved me wrong, and I’m glad he did. He operated on the edges really well. His carries were good, his offloads were there, and then the physicality and the lineout execution was perfect.

“So, absolutely so wrapped that they got that selection right, and it’s a real consideration now moving forward. I’m happy to be proven wrong.”

As lock cover, Vaa’i allows an extra loose forward to be picked on the bench and Rennie obliged, selecting both Anton Segner and Peter Lakai in his reserves.

Against Ireland they had a traditional 5-3 split on the bench but Wilson believed they would potentially add more forward power in South Africa.

“You know what he [Rennie] mentioned, during the week? A six-two split,” Wilson continued.

“I’ve got a sense he might do that in a couple of those early games against the likes of the Sharks, and go “you know what? Is that something we can explore in the test matches”.

“Because sometimes the luxury of carrying a wing, and I’ll give a shout out to Caleb Clarke, really good off the bench, whether or not you can then bolster by adding a lock with another couple of loose forwards and give yourself a little bit of depth that way.”

The All Blacks enjoyed the return of hometown hero Patrick Tuipulotu against Ireland who put in a top performance alongside Josh Lord. With Sam Darry also available and Fabian Holland yet to return from injury, Rennie has plenty of locks to choose from with Scott Barrett sidelined.

“I think you look at what South Africa’s doing, and they realise this is four Test matches. You’re not going to be able to play the same 23 over. It’s just not going to be physically possible. You’re going to have to give guys another opportunity. You’re going to have to make some adjustments as it goes on.”