Second-five first choice

By WYNNE GRAY

A mid-year scouting mission to Whangarei sealed the deal - teenager Ben Atiga was ready to play for Auckland in the NPC.

He had not played a senior game of club rugby, he was playing fullback instead of the midfield where Auckland rated him, but those issues were insignificant.

Certainly irrelevant for the Auckland coaching triumvirate of Wayne Pivac, Grant Fox and Graham Henry who were watching the New Zealand Colts play Northland in a trial match before they left for their tournament in South Africa.

Those who noticed the Auckland trio probably thought they were dissecting Northland ahead of the NPC. There was a bit of that, but most of the coaches' attention was on 19-year-old Atiga.

They were unsure of the midfield mix for Auckland, they wanted to assess a few players and Atiga was on that list. He was there because Henry remembered he had played at centre for Auckland Grammar during two of his four years in the First XV.

"He played well in that trial game up north, he was good in contact, he did not back off anything and we got an idea about him at that higher level," Pivac said.

Atiga plays for the champion Ponsonby under-22 side, he is happy playing with his mates while the seniors have plenty of midfield depth. So it was a double shock when Atiga got the call for Auckland's third NPC match against North Harbour.

"I had not even thought about making the team and then I was in and at second five-eighths," he said. "Foxy said just jump in there and give it a go."

Atiga had a reliable debut in what was only his third game on Eden Park and then last week scored his first NPC try against Bay of Plenty.

"There was a hole, Lee Stensness put the pass for me and I just put a little inside step on the fullback who was at full pace trying to spread on defence," he said.

"I thought 'I am just going to take this', it was a great feeling and I had dreamed about it a lot."

The university commerce student has some serious sporting pedigree. Both his great-grandfather and grandfather played rugby for Samoa, his father was a useful Ponsonby club player while his Tongan-born mother won numerous athletics titles.

That dual ancestry and his birth in New Zealand gives him a range of choices if his rugby ability attracts international attention. But there is no point getting that far ahead when he has just made the Auckland side and he is also wary of how injury can savage players' careers.

That vulnerability was underlined a year or so ago when Atiga almost ruptured his cruciate knee ligament. He still lives at home. Why give up those comforts when he can give them all tickets to the rugby in exchange? And if he rewards the Auckland coaching staff with some more smart rugby against Southland tomorrow and into the NPC beyond, that will also be a good deal.