Scott Robertson's reasoning behind keeping Tupou Vaa'i at blindside

Last week, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson made the bold decision to move one of New Zealand’s best and most promising locks to blindside flanker, to take on an inexperienced France side in Dunedin.

The move paid off in some respects, with the All Blacks performing almost perfectly at set piece time, with a bigger body and frame as a lineout option.

For the second Test at Sky Stadium in Wellington this Saturday, Robertson has trusted Vaa’i once again at blindside, instead opting for Patrick Tuipulotu to replace the injured Scott Barrett.

When asked about what specifically the challenges are for a lock transitioning to a blindside flanker, Robertson talks about how quick and athletic the Chiefs lock is.

“Well he plays a little bit more on the edge there, he’s bigger, but he’s got the skill set to do it and he’s quick enough,” Robertson told the media in Wellington.

“The great thing about him is, he has great footwork at the line, and you know he can hook it out the back late at the line, and he can tip the ball onto a good running line.”

Robertson explains that the blindside flanker position tends to defend a bit wider, so it’s all about repetition for Vaa’i.

“So it’s just doing it over and over again, he’s a great defender too, which is a little bit further out and understanding and anticipating the game.

“It’s just reps for him, just a little bit of a change of his number on his back, really, all the core role stuff stays the same.”

Vaa’i admits he’s enjoying the move into the loose forwards, but also wants to keep playing the way he was before the switch.

“Oh, I definitely enjoy it, it’s obviously different skills here you have to have, but I believe that I can play that role,” Vaa’i told the media in Wellington.

“Obviously Razor and Jason (Ryan) believe in me as well, so it’s just pretty much on myself to go out there and continue to play the way I play.

“I guess it’s just another different number on my back and I’ll continue to do what I do.”

It’s now the second week for Vaa’i in this role, and he is beginning to feel more comfortable in the position.

“Yeah, I guess last week when I got told that I’ll be playing at six, I obviously only had a week to prepare, and again I’m at six again this weekend.

“So yeah, I guess I’ve had two weeks to prepare now, and I’ve been rubbing shoulders alongside Ardie Savea and Christian Lio-Willie as well.

“I got Samipeni Finau, one of my good mates, so we are obviously bouncing off ideas and trying to understand the role to the best of our abilities.