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Wallace Sititi: 'No, not in a million years... just crazy to say'
By Liam Heagney reporting from Monaco
A smile as bright as the brightest summer’s day lit up the face of Wallace Sititi on Sunday night in Monaco when he briefly reflected on his rapid five-month journey from nowhere to becoming World Rugby men’s 15s breakthrough player of the year for 2024.
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The 22-year-old North Harbour hopeful had set himself the modest target of just a single Super Rugby Pacific appearance with the Chiefs. Instead, after featuring 13 times in the run to an Auckland final against the Blues, Scott Robertson wanted a look and the rest is now inspiring history.
A 25-minute debut off the bench in California versus Fiji was followed by four Rugby Championship caps, but the best was yet to come – five successive weekends of smashing out 80-minute performances to help the All Blacks win four of their five tour matches.
It was Saturday night in Turin when that heavy-duty shift ended, Sititi packing down at blindside in the tour-ending victory over Italy. A day and 260 kilometres later, he was then left blown away on the Monte Carlo stage after learning he had got the jump on fellow award nominees Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of South Africa, England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ireland’s Jamie Osborne.
Had he ever imagined his year could spectacularly turn out like this? “No, not in a million years,” he chuckled with RugbyPass when trying to understand it all. “I would have been happy with one game with the Chiefs in the Super Rugby season and to be able to be here is definitely unexpected. Just crazy to say.”
If Monaco was an unlikely place for Sititi’s breakthrough year to end, San Diego was just as unlikely a place for it to get started. Robertson’s All Blacks era had got off to a spluttering home Test series victory over England and he wanted to cast the net for the friendly in America to see what might be trawled.
Sititi was reeled in. “The team gets named on the Tuesday of the week so you sort of have a bit of time to appreciate what is going on,” he explained about the Stateside adventure that ignited his international career.
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“You let the family know and it’s just about getting the process right throughout the week and leading up to the game was just the fun bit of the week. It’s about enjoying it, enjoying the moment, being present with the moment and just living.”
That living included the phone call to back home which even now ‘gets’ him. “Emotional,” he said, recalling what it was like telling his family he was going to be an All Black.
“I called my dad but obviously my mum was there as well. It was emotional. They had been there with me right from the start, so it’s good to be able to take them on this journey with me and to do this for them is special for me and special for the family.”
It sure is, especially as his father Semo knows all about the Test arena having played in it himself with Samoa. Ecstatic? “Yes, he is. Definitely.”
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Now that he has had a moment to take a breath, what advice does Sititi have for ambitious youngsters who have seen his incredible ascent to the top of his sport and aspire to do the same? “Keep your feet on the ground. Keep humble, keep a level head and enjoy the moment.”
Sititi sure has. Ask what his best tour moment was and there is no hesitation. “Beating England in Twickenham. Just a bit of relief when they missed that drop goal right at the end.”
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