'Everybody was starstruck': Hurricanes star left in awe of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Hurricanes wing Salesi Rayasi stole the show with a hat-trick against the Blues, but he might have opposition star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to thank for his try-scoring efforts.
Rayasi was in hot form in Dunedin on Saturday when the Hurricanes left it late to score a last-gasp 33-32 upset win over the Blues in a match that saw Tuivasa-Sheck make his much-anticipated debut for the Auckland-based franchise.
The former NRL sensation impressed, for the most part, in his first outing as a professional rugby union player as he looked to get involved frequently, showing good footwork when taking the ball to the line and freeing up his teammates with deft offloads.
Aside from his one blemish – a missed tackle on Hurricanes centre Bailyn Sullivan, who went on to set-up Ardie Savea’s match-winning try in the final minute – it was a successful first foray into Super Rugby for Tuivasa-Sheck.
In the lead-up to his debut outing for the Blues, the 2018 Dally M Medallist prepared for Super Rugby Pacific alongside Rayasi late last year as part of a 10-man training bubble in the midst of Auckland’s four-month lockdown between August and December.
The duo were both part of the Auckland NPC squad that only managed to play two matches before they, alongside North Harbour and Counties Manukau, were forced to withdraw from the competition.
While they weren’t able to play matches, members of the Auckland squad took the chance to condition themselves ahead of their respective Super Rugby Pacific campaigns.
Much has been made of Tuivasa-Sheck’s pre-season training partnership with five-test All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke, but Rayasi was also able to train alongside the 2013 NRL title-winner prior to linking up with the Hurricanes.
Speaking to media in the wake of his side’s win over the Blues, Rayasi said he and his Auckland teammates were “starstruck” by Tuivasa-Sheck’s presence upon his arrival in the team after having watched him flourish in the NRL between 2012 and 2021.
“We were doing 10-man bubbles and I was in that bubble with Rog and he was awesome,” Rayasi, who is now Super Rugby Pacific’s joint try-scoring leader along with Crusaders starlet Leicester Fainga’anuku following last weekend’s three-try haul, said.
“He was such a keen learner and he wanted to learn as much as he could from the players. He would always ask questions.
“It was quite odd because I guess most of the boys that were in the team are the age where they watched him start off as a 22-year-old in the NRL with the Roosters, so everybody was just sort of starstruck.
“Even more myself, I remember the boarding house [at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream], watching him on a Friday night before rugby and on a Saturday, we’d all sit there watching Rog and a bunch of other Kiwi boys for the Roosters.
“When he was in the team and asking for tips, we stood back wondering what was going on. It was awesome.
“He’d ask questions, why we do things we do, and we asked a bunch of questions like ‘Why do you guys wrist pass in rugby league?’, and he explained that, and [we’d] never thought of it but it makes sense.”
Although Rayasi was one of a few Hurricanes players to have stolen the show during Tuivasa-Sheck’s Blues debut, the 25-year-old was still impressed with his provincial teammate’s efforts both on attack and on defence.
“I thought he was awesome,” he said when asked of Tuivasa-Sheck’s maiden showing in a Blues jersey last Saturday.
“When he carried and stuff like that, he was definitely deceptive. His footwork at the line, beating players, tracking players and slipping offloads off, he was awesome.
“I was really impressed with his game. It was his first game in what, how many years? And it was a proper hit-out.”
After his hat-trick heroics, Rayasi has garnered national attention as chatter about the possibility of an All Blacks call-up grows louder, but the man himself was modest in his own assessment of his performance.
“It was all good, I was pretty happy with it. Some patches I felt I could have helped out the team a bit more.
“Coming into that game, we sort of knew what was coming from the Blues. You know they’re gonna be physical and try and beat us up through the middle and whatnot, but was just happy with the result more so than the individual performance kind of thing.”
Looking ahead to the Highlanders this weekend, Rayasi said the Hurricanes are eager to get off to a better start than they what they conjured up in the opening fortnight of the competition.
Slow starts against the Crusaders and Blues have forced the Hurricanes to leave it late to challenge for victory, with the Wellington-based side scoring a collective total of six tries and 38 points in the last 10 minutes of those two matches.
Rayasi hopes for an improved start to this weekend’s clash to avoid such a late flurry of points towards the end of the match.
“In review today we came up with some good solutions for that. It’s more on individuals to try sort that out for themselves during the week so that, come Saturday, we’re not making a last-minute gasp, we’re starting off with a bang – which is the idea coming into this weekend.”
Comments on RugbyPass
smith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
36 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
36 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
36 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
36 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
36 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
36 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
36 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
36 Go to comments