Tupou Vaa'i has taken big strides in his game since his Super Rugby debut in 2020. Photo / Photosport
Tupou Vaa'i has taken big strides in his game since his Super Rugby debut in 2020. Photo / Photosport
In a bid to press his claim for a place in the All Blacks World Cup squad, Tupou Vaa’i is keeping things simple.
“Just smile, be happy, and play good footy,” he said.
“It’s pretty much just working hard around the field and continuing to dominate those collisions, which isa big focus for me.”
This season shapes up as a big one in the career of the 23-year-old lock. All going to plan, he will earn his first World Cup minutes. But it goes beyond the tournament at the end of the year.
This season with the Chiefs will be his last before assuming the role of the side’s most experienced lock and leading the engine room, with Brodie Retallick continuing his career offshore following the World Cup.
As Retallick’s heir apparent, Vaa’i said he was taking the opportunity to get as much knowledge from the 100-test All Black as he could.
“My game has grown so much since I first started, but I guess once the Guzzler (Retallick) leaves, I’m the most experienced lock and I’m only 23,” Vaa’i said
“He’s a good man on and off the field. He loves to work hard, that’s what I’ve been trying to take off him; just trying to work as hard as him and make his job easier. He’s definitely got brains, and he’s been playing footy for a long time. I’m just trying to pick his brain and soak it all up. He’s going to be a big loss, but there’s definitely younger guys coming through.”
Brodie Retallick and Tupou Vaa'i during an All Blacks scrum against Argentina. Photo / Photosport
It seems a strange position to find someone of his age, but it is a testament to his abilities.
Vaa’i has been on the full spectrum of fortunes with the Chiefs. He made his Super Rugby debut in 2020 as injuries decimated the Chiefs locking stocks. He wasn’t a fully contracted player, but he was among the standout performers in the team’s winless Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign. Later that year, he made his All Blacks debut and has continued to develop since then.
Now, three years later, he is part of a team who is yet to lose a game through seven rounds of this year’s Super Rugby Pacific season, ready to get back into his work after a short layoff due to a knee injury.
Vaa’i suffered a low-grade MCL injury in the side’s round three win over the Highlanders and missed the following two weeks before returning in their hard-fought victory against the Blues a fortnight ago. Vaa’i got straight back into his work in a 51-minute stint upon his return and coming off a bye last weekend, is eager to run out against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday afternoon — a match that has been moved to a 2.35pm kickoff due to delays in planned Sky Stadium floodlight upgrades.
“To be honest, it’s always at the back of the head,” Vaa’i said of wanting to play his way into the World Cup squad.
“It’s a big focus for me this year and the only way for me to get selected is to play games and play good footy week in, week out. I’ve managed to sort out my MCL, so at the moment it’s just about trying to pick things up where I left them before and continue playing good footy.”
This weekend’s match sees the top two sides in the competition go head-to-head, with the Hurricanes the highest-scoring team this season, scoring about 39 points per game, and the Chiefs boasting the best defensive record, allowing an average of 16 points per game.
“The trap is that we’re just coming off a bye week,” Vaa’i said of this weekend’s clash. “We don’t want our standards to slip so we’re just trying to build nicely this week.
