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Visit to All Black legend's plush home inspired Tuivasa-Sheck
By AAP
Former NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has revealed how a visit to the home of NZ sports icon Eric Rush sparked a dream to play for the All Blacks.
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Tuivasa-Sheck is on the brink of wearing a New Zealand jersey for the first time with the former Sydney Roosters and NZ Warriors star named on the bench for Saturday’s series decider against Ireland.
Less than five months after playing his first professional match in the 15-man game for the Auckland Blues, Tuivasa-Sheck has been entrusted in a New Zealand team desperate to avoid a series defeat on home soil.
It’s been quite a journey for the one-time NRL premiership winner and ‘Dally M’ champion – awarded to the country’s most valuable player – who played more than 200 NRL matches.
He revealed on Thursday how the idea of playing for the All Blacks was hatched.
While finding his feet in both football codes as a talented schoolboy, Tuivasa-Sheck headed to a barbecue at a big house on a hill in the so uthern suburbs of Auckland owned by Rush, one of his coaches.
Rush played nine times for the All Blacks and dozens of matches for New Zealand’s all-conquering rugby sevens teams, also earning Commonwealth Games gold medals at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002.
Tuivasa-Sheck said he knew he wanted to be an All Black the day he visited Rush’s house.
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“Rush … was a legend in the rugby space. He had a barbecue at his house. He lived in Manukau Heights and I lived in Otara, and to go to his place you had to drive up the hill,” said Tuivasa-Sheck.
“He had a really nice house – a lot bigger, a lot cooler than where I was living in Otara. I said, ‘This is what I want for my family’, and tried my best to chase the dream ever since.”
Having made a seamless transition with the Blues in Super Rugby, Tuivasa-Sheck will hope to complete the fairytale by featuring in a series-sealing victory over the Irish at Wellington Regional Stadium.
A number of school friends will fly down from Auckland and join family members in the crowd to support him.
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Untested at the highest level, Tuivasa-Sheck’s inclusion in such a big game was queried by some fans but coach Ian Foster said he was ready and deserved his place.
Tuivasa-Sheck said it had been tough trying to learn the All Blacks system and he had been sweating over notes on his iPad until Foster tapped him on the shoulder during one session.
“He said, ‘We’re not building robots here. You’re all footy players.’
“I just want to go out there and make sure I nail my role, tick A, B and C, but Foster wants us to go and play and express ourselves,” added Tuivasa-Sheck.
“So that’s probably the biggest learning I’ve been getting over the last two weeks.”
