Junior wants to be senior

RUGBY
An international phone line can mask a lot.
However, there was no hiding the fact Bay of Plenty's Junior Poluleuligaga is a tongue-in-cheek fan of the wing play of fellow Chiefs teammate Brendon Leonard.
So much so, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Manu Samoa representative halfback keeps reminding coach Ian Foster of the one-try effort Leonard turned in during the closing stages of the win over the Lions last weekend.
"I actually thought [Leonard] was coming on to replace me," Poluleuligaga said from Perth, where the Chiefs are preparing to play the Force this weekend.
"He's got enough pace to play on the wing. He played the last game of the All Blacks tour on the wing so he's not too unfamiliar with it," the 29-year-old joked of his fellow halfback's wing assignment.
And, he laughed, he'll "do what I can" to encourage Foster to make it permanent.
That would certainly work towards Poluleuligaga's personal master plan for 2010. "I've set myself a couple of goals and one of them is to be the Chiefs' number one halfback by the end of the 2010 Super 14 competition," he said.
To do that, the 1.84m and 94kg halfback will have to keep the 13-test Leonard waiting in the wings or, at least, on the reserves' bench.
Poluleuligaga started against the Lions and did his further selection chances no harm with a typically robust performance behind the pack.
First picked to play Super 14 rugby for the Blues in 2006, Poluleuligaga played nine times before heading overseas for stints with Manu Samoa (RWC 2007), Toulon and Harlequins.
Last year he returned to New Zealand, signing up for the Bay of Plenty Steamers and filling the large hole left by Jamie Nutbrown.
The big halfback's performances, in tandem with No 8 Colin Bourke and five eight Mike Delany, were a huge part of the Steamers' early season momentum last year.
Those performances across 14 Air New Zealand Cup games earned him a Chiefs contract and a chance to play Super rugby again.
"It's quite refreshing and it's great rugby to be playing," he said of his return. "The game seems to be played at a faster pace and it's good rugby as well."
Poluleuligaga said the halfback's role had evolved in modern rugby and given the new rules and their interpretation around the tackled ball, big strong halfbacks were now the norm. "Our coach calls us half forwards instead of backs ... nowadays you've got to be big and strong and a ball carrier."