Ian Foster breaks silence on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's All Blacks chances
Ian Foster is excited to see ex-NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s rugby union career kick-off earlier than expected, but an All Blacks call-up for the end-of-year tour is still some way off from a certainty.
Tuivasa-Sheck made headlines last week when he was granted an early release from his contract with the Warriors in the wake of the New Zealand Government’s decision to pause its travel bubble with Australia for eight weeks.
The Warriors have been based in Australia for the past two seasons in a bid to keep the NRL alive amid the volatile COVID-19 climate.
However, with only five rounds remaining in the current NRL season, the lengthy travel pause forced Tuivasa-Sheck to weigh up his options before opting to return to New Zealand to play for Auckland in this year’s NPC to help prepare him for next year’s Super Rugby season with the Blues.
The 2018 Dally M Medallist’s decision to come to New Zealand rugby earlier than anticipated excites Foster, who revealed he has held numerous talks with Tuivasa-Sheck.
“We’ve had a number of talks with Roger. The fact he’s been able to come back early I think is great for him, and it’s a massive kudos to the Warriors as an organisation for what they’ve done for him,” Foster said on Monday.
“They’ve given him a chance to have a run into the campaign, and so, first and foremost, I think it’s a fantastic gesture from them and I’m sure Roger greatly appreciates it.”
Foster’s excitement over the cross-code star doesn’t translate to a guaranteed place in the All Blacks’ end-of-year tour of the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, though.
The All Blacks are scheduled to play the USA, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy in successive weeks throughout October and November, but Foster is waiting to see how Tuivasa-Sheck fares in New Zealand provincial rugby before bringing him into the selection frame.
“It’s not a serious consideration for us at this stage,” Foster said when asked of the 28-year-old’s selection chances later this year.
However, Foster has full faith that Tuivasa-Sheck and Auckland head coach Alama Ieremia have a plan in place to help the 2013 NRL Premiership winner learn the nuances of rugby union and flourish in the NPC.
“What do we expect out of him? We just expect him to go out there and put a smile on his face and learn something new.
The All Blacks have identified the biggest lesson they learned from last year’s shock 16-all draw against the Wallabies ahead of their re-match in Auckland this weekend. #AllBlacks #Wallabies #BledisloeCup #NZLvAUS https://t.co/c3TC7QBRkw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2021
“It’s quite stimulating learning something new and he’s motivated and I’m sure, with him and Alama, they’ll work on a really good plan and we’ll just keep an eye on him.”
Just where Tuivasa-Sheck will slot into the Auckland backline remains to be seen, but former dual-code legend Sonny Bill Williams believes his former Sydney Roosters teammate would be best utilised on the wing upon his induction into rugby union.
“I think he’ll play wing in the early stages of his transition,” Williams, a 58-test All Black and 12-test Kiwi, told Channel Nine last week.
“For me, it’s not a case of will he make it to the All Blacks or will he thrive in the game of 15, it’s a question of how long it’ll take.
“We’ve got to remember that he grew up as a rugby player and league boys poached him from the game of rugby and brought him across, so he shouldn’t have too much problems transitioning back.”
The 2021 NPC season kicks-off this weekend, with Auckland scheduled to begin their campaign against Canterbury at Eden Park on Sunday.
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