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Jason Ryan: Tupou Vaa’i ‘becoming a man at Test level’

Tupou Vaa'i of the All Blacks. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images

With perhaps rugby’s most iconic second-row partnership departing the All Blacks following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, some anxiety over the next men up was only natural. Much of that anxiety has now been put to rest thanks to the form of Tupou Vaa’i.

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With only the biggest of boots to fill, Vaa’i’s apprenticeship under All Blacks legends Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock has certainly paid dividends as the 24-year-old assumed the starting role and owned it throughout The Rugby Championship. 

Starting the season behind both All Blacks captain Scott Barrett and the Super Rugby Pacific champion Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu, Vaa’i looked to be continuing his impact role as starting minutes continued to prove evasive.

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However, when Tuipulotu went down with injury Vaa’i got his shot. It wasn’t long before Barrett was also ruled out and the young lock was handed the keys to the All Blacks’ line out.

With the bright lights of Eden Park and its famous winning streak on the line, Vaa’i excelled.

A near-flawless lineout performance throughout the 80 minutes helped see New Zealand past Argentina in a statement bounce-back victory.

All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan has duly rewarded Vaa’i with the starting gig moving forward and shared strong praise for the budding star following a rocky Rugby Championship campaign.

“Tups has been exceptional,” Ryan told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “He’s carried on some great Super Rugby form and I think I’ve said this before but what people don’t see is I think it’s a reflection of playing a lot of rugby with Brodie Retallick at the Chiefs.

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“And then he’s come in at the All Black level and he’s been alongside Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett and Patty Tuipulotu – with him being injured it became an opportunity for Tups and he really took it.”

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Ryan’s sentiment has been echoed by All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson throughout the 2024 campaign, with words like “immense” and “remarkable” inspired by gritty engine room performances.

The on-field performances are a reflection of the work going in behind the scenes according to Ryan, and there’s plenty of it.

“I think it’s a reflection of the work he does during the week, his homework and his preparation.

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“He’s becoming a man at the Test level which is a lot different to Super level and he’s made the most of his opportunity. He’s a big part of our lineout group and a real leader within the forward pack and I’m really pleased for him. The best is yet to come.”

Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)

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fl 7 hours ago
Steve Borthwick urged by predecessor to make radical Ben Earl decision

1) I didn’t say he wasn’t good enough for Wales. I said he wasn’t good enough for England or SA, but that he would be good enough for Wales.


2) I didn’t include the u20 games which Ojomoh and Atkinson played in. Ojomoh has played 69 senior professional matches for Bath, and a further 4 for the England under 20s. Atkinson has played 52 senior professional matches for Gloucester and 10 for Worcester. He has never been capped by England u20s.


3) Ojomoh is pretty much a guaranteed starter. He started some games off the bench when he was returning from injury, but before the international break he had a run of 4 consecutive starts.


4) Atkinson is absolutely a guaranteed starter. He’s been a starter in 47 of his 52 games for Gloucester. 1 minute off the bench counts as a pro game so is important to note that BJVR has his appearance stats inflated by a relatively large (compared to Atkinson) number of appearances when he was on the pitch for less than 5 minutes.


5) It is genuinely impressive that you managed to get so many basic facts wrong in just one relatively short comment. It is a shame that you are not coming to this with an open mind, but to be clear no one is saying that BJVR is a bad player, but given there are good young English options, it makes more sense to develop them rather than expect a 29 year old (as he will be when he becomes eligible for England) to come into the team and immediately excel.

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