NZ Rugby's biggest snare of recent times is in danger of going down the Benji Marshall route. Remember when the Blues lassoed league's rockstar playmaker and tied him to a chair instead of letting him play?
The sparkling signing lost his lustre with all of hisspontaneity pre-seasoned out of him, when he could've been putting in the mahi in local rugby, polishing the talent he possessed. One of the biggest face-versus-nose slicing moments in code-hopping history.
League convert Benji Marshall training with the Blues in 2014. Photo / Brett Phibbs
One of the premier talents in league, with a background in union, is lured to the other side in the prime of his career, with the hope of securing the holy grail of an All Blacks jersey.
Terrible for the Warriors, horrid for the Kiwis — but a point of excitement for rugby fans. Some argued he shouldn't have been fast tracked into Super Rugby. But he was, and it worked. Rough edges absolutely, but this is a player of rare talent. Physically freakish, mentally bulletproof, with the ability to sponge information and transfer it to the park.
His vision, already world class, will only expand with time on the park. His innate sense of position, comprehension of the game's rhythm and nuance has already grown and more time playing can only enlarge and solidify the advances he has made.
Spending time in an All Blacks environment is one thing but he's played just 10 minutes for the team this year and spending time strengthening his rugby IQ is another story altogether.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck training with the All Blacks this week. Photo / George Heard
Tuivasa-Sheck should be playing in the NPC every week. He needs as much experience as possible — instead, he's had just one run, last weekend's 21-10 defeat against Bay of Plenty.
The guy is tough as teak, with a massive engine. He grows in confidence and effectiveness the longer he's out there.
There are signs that management aren't confident in his ability yet, but for his future at the highest level, let him play.
His time spent away from the real life of unstructured and unpredictable game play is time wasted. Get him on a plane, get him to Auckland and get him playing week-in, week-out.
The NPC is a lower standard, but keeping him from sharpening his sword in real time is right up there with the myopic decision to let Marshall fester in pre-season training while everyone else got down and dirty doing what they do best, doing what they need to do — play footy.
Our national domestic competition gets flogged with a stick from all quarters, so to give spectators a talent like RTS to watch seems like a laughably simple decision to make.
