'I feel like I'm carving him up': New All Black Fakatava's sights set on pushing Aaron Smith

New All Black halfback Folau Fakatava is one of six new faces in Ian Foster’s All Blacks squad but the young No 9 is no stranger to competing with incumbent starter Aaron Smith.

The 22-year-old and the veteran Smith have formed a 1-2 partnership at the Highlanders over the last few seasons that has been one of the more exciting combinations in the country, leading to calls for Fakatava to reach higher honours early in his career.

After being named in the All Blacks squad, a confident Fakatava jovially spoke of his healthy competition with Smith and how they hype each other up.

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 17

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 17

“I always love competing with him,” Fakatava said of Smith speaking to One News .

“I feel like I’m carving him up at training. I told him ‘I’m coming for you’ and he knows I’m putting a bit of pressure on him.”

The Tongan-born halfback has had to overcome an ACL injury which derailed his 2021 Super Rugby season and also put his potential All Black debut in doubt. Due to the injury, the Highlander wasn’t able to make his debut before World Rugby’s rule changes.

The residency eligibility laws changed at the start of 2022, extending from three years to five, meaning the previously-qualified Fakatava would have had to then wait until post-2023 to reach the All Blacks.

An exemption granted by World Rugby earlier this year has paved the way for Fakatava to earn selection and potentially don the black jersey for the first time against Ireland, much like Aaron Smith did 10 years ago in 2012.

The pair were on the phone to each other after hearing of their selections in the first All Black squad of 2022, while Fakatava said he ‘almost’ gave up after his injury last year.

“We were just hyping each other up and he was saying he was super proud of me and looking forward to getting into camp and keep doing what we do,” he said.

“I wanted to be in the All Blacks last year but that didn’t happen. It was quite tough. I was almost giving up on that dream but my mum and dad, my partner, were always there telling me ‘you got this.'”

Smith was excited about Fakatava’s arrival at the club back in 2019 and the All Black centurion has been open about his approach in the past about trying to pass on as much information as he can to the young halfback.

“It’s something, as an older player, you think about, ‘Oh yeah, it only takes a couple years and this guy could be the guy’, so showing that pathway, trying to get them involved in our culture early to see if they can fall in love with it, that’s the key,” Smith said told RugbyPass last year.

“I try to build that relationship with all my halfbacks, with Folau, Kayne and then obviously Whiskey’s new,” Smith said.

“In particular with halfbacks, I always try to take interest if they want help or want to have a chat, I’m definitely available, always.”