Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'Am I fired?' - Tatafu Polota-Nau's frightening phone call

Tatafu Polota-Nau. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

He feared he might be getting fired, but a curve ball proposition has given Wallabies hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau an opportunity to press his claims to go to a third World Cup.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 33-year-old has returned to his original senior representative team, the NSW Waratahs, on a short-term loan deal from English club Leicester Tigers.

He had been vying for playing time in the UK with two internationals, England’s Tom Youngs and newly-capped Scotland hooker Jake Kerr.

Polota-Nau, who is expected to come off the bench for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash with the Reds at the SCG on Saturday, isn’t sure how long he will stay with the Tahs, but is grateful for the opportunity to play more minutes.

He was sidelined for several weeks by a medial ligament knee injury before he returned just over a week ago.

The Wallabies veteran expected to play out the season for Leicester before he was contacted by Tigers’ coach Geordan Murphy last week.

“I got the call from Geordy asking to state a proposition towards me and to be honest I thought ‘This will be interesting, am I fired?'” Polota-Nau said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I just saw a great opportunity, one to get some more game time, but two, hopefully stake claims towards the World Cup.

“This was just a curve ball but definitely one I’d catch and run with.”

Polota-Nau’s return is a boost for the Tahs, who have another Test rake, Tolu Latu, serving a six-week suspension.

Polota-Nau admitted to struggling last year when he shuttled between the two hemispheres, juggling club and national commitments.

“It was a bit of a struggle last season in terms of not knowing how to prepare accordingly but, in saying that, now that I’ve got that under my belt, definitely taking steps closer to getting that sorted,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

For most of his 13-year test career Polota-Nau vied with Stephen Moore for the Wallabies No.2 jersey but now has a new generation of rivals for that starting spot.

“There’s actually plenty of good depth here in Australia to cover hooker, so I’m giving it one last roll of the dice,” he said.

AAP News

Rugby Explorer with Jim Hamilton:

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

N
Nickers 25 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

41 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline? Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?
Search