All Blacks rookie admits 'surprise' at blindside selection vs Boks

Test rookie Wallace Sititi has been named for his first All Blacks start in Saturday’s highly anticipated Springboks rematch, but the selection has not come in his familiar position.

The 21-year-old burst onto the scene in the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season with game-breaking running and bone-crunching defence, but it all came with the No. 8 jersey on his back.

This weekend, in one of the biggest Tests of the international calendar, Sititi will don the No. 6 jersey and line up opposite Pieter-Steph du Toit and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on the flanks.

The selection call comes after regular starter Ethan Blackadder was ruled out of the contest due to a short-term injury, with Sititi beating out the likes of Chiefs teammates Samipeni Finau and Luke Jacobson in the race for promotion.

After an inactive start to The Rugby Championship when it comes to game-time, Sititi admitted hearing his name called for the Cape Town Test was unexpected, let alone in the blindside flanker role.

“Definitely a lot of surprise,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Obviously I haven’t played six in a while so just to hear my name called out at that jersey was definitely different.”

The expectation is clear for the youngster, both internally and externally. One word was offered whenever Sititi was asked what he brings to the table: “physicality.”

The hard-running forward echoed that sentiment when asked what head coach Scott Robertson was asking of him for the round four matchup: “Just that physicality, both on attack and defence.”

There was no tip-toeing around the shift from No. 8 to six, either. Sititi admitted it was a “big change” and confirmed his most recent experience in the role was during the 2023 NPC season.

“I played a couple games at North Harbour there, probably my most recent experience was at Harbour. So, like I said it’ll be a bit of a change but I’ll get the reps in and prepare well.”

With the weight of the challenge of facing the back-to-back world champs in a position of limited familiarity, Sititi offered a balanced outlook on the game, with a casual “should be all good” followed by a more emotional insight: “Still feeling a bit overwhelmed but I’m just excited and keen to get into it.”

Thankfully, the rookie has some veterans in his corner to help prepare him for the occasion.

He’ll be joined by former All Blacks captain Sam Cane and World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea in the loose forward trio and is benefitting from the guidance of the man he steps into the starting unit for, Ethan Blackadder.

“He’s been very helpful for me this entire campaign and obviously this opportunity has come at a bit of an unfortunate circumstance. He’s been giving me tips but we’ll keep that between us.”

Having blown a 10-point lead in the final 10 minutes of round three’s Test at Emirates Airline Park, Sititi says the team have a clear focus of lifting late in the rematch.

“I think the big one is just being able to play for the full 80 minutes, being able to keep that level high for the entire game. We all know it’s a physical game so I’ll be expecting that this week as well.”