Timoci Tavatavanawai giving former All Black Ma'a Nonu flashbacks

There’s been no shortage of praise for Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai after the wing-turned-midfieler’s starring performance in his side’s win over the Blues in round two of Super Rugby Pacific.

The upset win over the reigning champions came off the back of numerous Tavatavanawai plays that saw his side gain attacking momentum and field position while down to 13 players after prop Daniel Lienert-Brown was red-carded 57 minutes into the contest.

The two-man disadvantage made the win all the more improbable, and Tavatavanawai’s game-changing moments all the more impressive.

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The 27-year-old certainly impressed former All Black Justin Marshall, who was eager to make a case for Tavatavanawai’s All Blacks selection following the Highlanders win.

“I want to make a bold statement now, and why not? If Timoci Tavatavanawai is not in the conversation with the All Blacks then something’s wrong,” Marshall told Martin Devlin’s DSPN Podcast.

“He’s been eligible to play for Fiji forever and he’s said no because he wants to be an All Black. I don’t think this is just one great game he had on the weekend, he’s had three consistent seasons of incredible form; quite often in the NPC getting Man of the Match with the way he performs.

“I like the way he’s shifted from the wing to 12, it’s exactly what Ma’a Nonu did when he was growing up and he turned into one of the best 12s in the world.

“Tavatavanawai has got absolutely everything the All Blacks need in terms of being able to build a weapon in that jersey. he can distribute, on the weekend he showed he’s got a kicking game, we know how good he is over the ball. Defensively, he’s really strong, he’s quick and he’s really hard to tackle; he brings in two defenders just about every time he’s got ball in hand.”

 

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The man known as ‘Jim the Difference’ in his home province of Malborough plowed through 16 carries, nine tackles without a miss, won three turnovers, beat seven defenders and contributed two offloads in his 80 minutes on the park.

“If they’re not thinking how can we utilize this guy? How can we bring him into the All Blacks? Then they’re not watching the right pictures,” Marshall continued.

“If he continues to play well, I certainly think that he’s a guy the All Blacks should very much be looking at for our midfield.

“If you’ve played 12, you can play 13 because you’ve played winger. And those are areas they’ve said they need to reinforce because we’re not strong enough and have enough depth in our centres, which means 12 and 13. He has to be in their conversations, 100 per cent, from what I’ve seen there is some real talent there.”