Tupou Vaa'i reveals past All Black who inspired him to become a 'menace'

Tupou Vaa’i is leaning into his reputation as a “menace” on the rugby field, and has revealed who inspired his emergence as an antagoniser.

The 26-year-old is in his seventh season with the All Blacks, having come into the squad as a lock during the iconic second-row partnership of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock, with Scott Barrett also in the mix and later pushing into the starting team.

While minutes were hard to come by for the youngster, the mentorship he was exposed to gave him every chance to grow his game on the training park, and when his time came in 2024, Vaa’i quickly established himself as one of New Zealand’s premier forwards.

It wasn’t just in the All Blacks environment where he learnt his craft; four seasons alongside Retallick, an expert provocateur, at the Chiefs also shaped his game. Vaa’i says he picked up more than just lineout skills from the 2014 World Rugby Player of the Year.

“Playing alongside Brodie Retallick for those years, it’s easy to pick up on things like that,” Vaa’i told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod when asked about his pot-stirring antics.

“It’s just another way that you can get into the game. My good old mate Fletcher Newell has copped it a bit, but we’re good mates, and he knows it as well. We’ve had a laugh after the game.”

But it’s not an entirely adopted attitude, Vaa’i insists. It’s one he has embraced after time spent thinking about who he is as a player and what he brings to the game.

“Just more around understanding who I am and how I want to be perceived by other players. I tend to get called a bit of a menace around camp. It’s just in-the-moment things that help me get into the game. I think I perform at my best when I’m at that stage, if that makes sense.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

47 - 17

34 - 32

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

20 - 36

31 - 33

43 - 21

27 - 17

21 - 42

4

Wins

5

3

Streak

5

25

Tries Scored

25

52

Points Difference

71

3/5

First Try

3/5

3/5

First Points

3/5

3/5

Race To 10 Points

3/5

Vaa’i concedes, with a grin, that the antics haven’t made him particularly popular with the halfbacks, and his roommate Samisoni Taukai’aho has been bearing the brunt of his jabs on a day-to-day basis.

However, he’s not the new kid in camp any more, and more responsibility continues to come Vaa’i’s way as he earns his stripes. Having played big minutes alongside Sam Darry, Josh Lord and Fabian Holland over the past 12 months, Vaa’i is finding his feet as one of the All Blacks’ more experienced engine-room operators.

“It’s a bit of a weird feeling, to be honest. I’ve always been the younger lock over the last few years, and I guess it’s just something where I need to get out of my comfort zone and go bone-deep in my prep, and that’s something that I’m enjoying at the moment,” he explained.

“Obviously, working alongside the other few locks that we have has helped me grow my game a bit more and understand the detail within the lineout system and within the game that we’re trying to play.

“And I’m pretty grateful that I’m working alongside (Neil) Barnes again. He’s a great head in our team, and he’s really passionate about the finer details of what you’re supposed to look for in terms of lineout jumps or people you’re trying to pick on and that sort of thing. I’m enjoying the process.”

Barnes is the All Blacks’ lead assistant coach in the new Dave Rennie regime, which has introduced new tools to uphold standards. Back-in-game stats are collected during every Test, providing a score that represents every player’s efforts in getting off the ground and getting back into position.

“As the boys have said the last couple of weeks, there’s no hiding any more, and there are always stats that come out on a Monday, and it’s pretty strict, in a good way. There’s definitely no hiding,” Vaa’i said.

“The boys that do need a couple of top-ups get shoulder-tapped, and I was definitely one of them in the previous weeks, prior to missing that French game.

“The game’s only going to get faster, so the more that we can stay on top of our fitness, the more we can get off the ground and back in play.”

Selectors have made the contentious call to move Vaa’i to the blindside flank against Ireland this weekend, for what will be his sixth start in the position. Rennie said the move adds more height and nous to the All Blacks’ lineout and maul defence, with greater pack weight aiding New Zealand in the collision area.

Defensively, Vaa’i says the best way to build the All Blacks’ game is to stop any opposition momentum “at the source”, meaning the set piece and breakdown. Additionally, in open-field play, he says there’s a new impetus on the players making decisions to shut down ball-runners.

“Being able to scan defenders, us forwards have been working really hard on that stuff. They’ve given us the license to pull trigger, back what you see, and play to where the space is.

“It’s been awesome being in this camp, with the coaches giving us the license to do all of those things. I guess it just comes down to us and how we can execute it.”

You can catch the Aotearoa Rugby Pod and more on RugbyPass TV.