Selection for ABs next for star No 12?
How do you stop a wine barrel which is rolling down a hill?
You don't. You get out of the way, or you get flattened.
Plenty of Super Rugby Pacific players have discovered that one this year.
Highlanders second five Timoci Tavatavanawai has been the best player in the side all season and that is official.
He was named the club's most valuable player at the awards evening earlier this week.
The Highlanders co-captain picked up a bunch of other awards but all you need to know is he is hard to tackle, he tackles hard and he is adept at winning turnovers at the ruck.
And one more thing — he might be an All Black soon.
That is how Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph sees it.
"I think Timoci Tavatavanawai has been an outstanding player in every minute of every game," Joseph said when asked about his All Blacks prospects.
"Perhaps if we gave him a break, then his rugby, in terms of how he played, and this is no slight on him, could even be better.
"So I think he's got massive potential, and he would be in my All Blacks team."
The Highlanders have signed the Fijian powerhouse for another two years, and towering lock Fabian Holland has inked a three-year deal.
"It's a vote of confidence for us coaches, as well as the club, that players kind of trust our process around developing them into a great rugby player."
Tavatavanawai was more measured when assessing his international prospects.
"At the moment I'm just focusing on my game every week," Tavatavanawai said.
"I keep putting my best foot forward to be up there, that's the focus."
The All Blacks were not on Tavatavanawai's mind when he moved over from Fiji. The goal was to help support his family and to cement a position with Tasman in the NPC.
Then he got the opportunity to play in Super Rugby Pacific with Moana Pasifika in 2022-23 before moving to the Highlanders last season.
This season has been a breakthrough campaign for the robust former winger.
His ability to punch holes in the defence and his strength over the ball at the ruck have set him apart from some of the other midfielders in the country.
Tavatavanawai has carried the ball more than just about anyone else in the competition — 160 carries.
He leads the competition in defenders beaten, swatting aside 64 would-be-tacklers.
And he is in the top 10 for offloads.
The Highlanders will name their side for their final game of the season today. They play the red-hot Chiefs in Dunedin on Friday.
Tavatavanawai was looking forward to demonstrating his skills one more time this season.
So are his fans.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
8 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Chiefs v Blues: Live updates from the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs
Follow the action as the Chiefs host the Blues in Hamilton in the first round of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs. Chiefs team to face the Blues The Chiefs will be out for revenge as they host a Blues outfit that thumped them 41-10 in the Super Rugby Pacific final in Auckland last year. Since then, the sides have met twice this season, with the Chiefs coming up trumps on both occasions – although it was only by a one-point margin when the Blues visited Hamilton in round five. Coach Clayton McMillan has made nine changes to his starting XV that bested the last-placed Highlanders 41-24 last week, opting for a more experienced lineup. A new-look front row has Aidan Ross, Samisoni Taukei'aho and George Dyer slotting into the starting side. Naitoa Ah Kuoi replaces Josh Lord and joins Tupou Vaa'i in the locking department. All Black Wallace Sititi has been shifted to the bench and replaced by Simon Parker in the No 8 jersey. Samipeni Finau and captain Luke Jacobson round out the loose forwards. In the backline, Cortez Ratima will start at halfback over Xavier Roe. Quinn Tupaea has been ruled out after suffering a head injury last week and is replaced by Gideon Wrampling. Emoni Narawa has returned from injury and will start on the wing alongside Leroy Carter. The Chiefs have already booked their spot in the competition's semifinals next week, regardless of the result, but a win on Saturday night would go a long way in securing home advantage throughout the playoffs. Chiefs: 1. Aidan Ross 2. Samisoni Taukei'aho 3. George Dyer 4. Naitoa Ah Kuoi 5. Tupou Vaa'i 6. Samipeni Finau 7. Luke Jacobson (c) 8. Simon Parker 9. Cortez Ratima 10. Damian McKenzie 11. Leroy Carter 12. Gideon Wrampling 13. Daniel Rona 14. Emoni Narawa 15. Shaun Stevenson. Bench: 16. Brodie McAlister 17. Ollie Norris 18. Reuben O'Neill 19. Josh Lord 20. Wallace Sititi 21. Xavier Roe 22. Josh Jacomb 23. Etene Nanai-Seturo. Unavailable: Quinn Tupaea (head/eye), Anton Lienert-Brown (collarbone), Liam Coombes-Fabling (hamstring), Fiti Sa (shoulder), Manaaki Selby-Rickit (toe), Rameka Poihipi (knee, season), Kaleb Trask (ankle), Malachi Wrampling (hamstring), Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (shoulder), Sione Ahio (ankle). Blues team to face the Chiefs Coach Vern Cotter has made just one change to his Blues side, tasked with taking the trip down State Highway 1 to knock over a high-flying Chiefs outfit if they wish to defend the Super Rugby Pacific title. The side snuck into the top six of the ladder after a 46-6 win over the Waratahs at Eden Park at the weekend, but will have their work cut out for them. The sole change involves Adrian Choat replacing Anton Segner at blindside flanker, with Segner being shifted to the bench. The equation for the underdog Blues is quite simple – win and they earn another week. Blues: 1. Joshua Fusitu'a 2. Ricky Riccitelli 3. Marcel Renata 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (c) 5. Laghlan McWhannell 6. Adrian Choat 7. Dalton Papali'i 8. Hoskins Sotutu 9. Finlay Christie 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 12. A.J. Lam 13. Rieko Ioane 14. Mark Tele'a 15. Corey Evans. Bench: 16. Kurt Eklund 17. Jordan Lay 18. Angus Ta'avao 19. Josh Beehre 20. Anton Segner 21. Sam Nock 22. Harry Plummer 23. Cole Forbes. Unavailable: Cam Christie (thumb), Stephen Perofeta (leg), Reon Paul (shoulder), Cam Suafoa (medical, season), Ofa Tu'ungafasi (neck, season), Sam Darry (shoulder, season).
NZ Herald
11 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Super Rugby Pacific: Christchurch set to host Super Round in 2026 at Te Kaha
Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley has confirmed plans are in motion to bring back Super Round for the 2026 season with Christchurch's new stadium, Te Kaha, in line to host the event over Anzac weekend. It would be the first time a New Zealand city has hosted
NZ Herald
20 hours ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks 2025: NZ rugby coach Scott Robertson's revolution enters decisive stage
The All Blacks' story has certainly followed a revolutionary path in that there was a seismic cleanout of personnel after the 2023 World Cup – a grand toppling of the previous regime that felt brutal and public in the way so many lost their jobs, and lost them while they were still in them. And then came the period of unrest, the uncertainty in the aftermath of the blood-letting that saw Robertson suffer upheaval in his own coaching team after assistant Leon MacDonald quit after five tests. It saw Robertson pick an unwinnable fight with his employer by regularly protesting existing All Blacks' eligibility policies and advocating for change. Then in the final test of the year there was TJ Perenara's politicised haka, which caused significant angst and upset among the senior playing group. There was also an at-times bitter and toxic battle between warring factions trying to amend New Zealand Rugby's constitution to change the way directors were appointed. Damian McKenzie was given sporadic opportunities at first five-eighths last year. Photo / Photosport Last year was turbulent, and there was an air of volatility about the All Blacks in their chop-and-change selections (Robertson was unable to commit to Damian McKenzie as chief playmaker), their up-and-down performances, and their failure to deliver a transformational brand of rugby that was cohesive and enlightened. If there was a revolutionary tactical blueprint, a bright new vision for how players are presented to the public, and an intent to unearth a cohort of emerging superstars, it never materialised amid the constant upheaval. But 2025 should be the year that stage two of the revolution begins. Robertson now has his coaching team set up how he wants, and with MacDonald gone there is no longer ambiguity about the axis of power and who is playing Trotsky to his Lenin. Scott Robertson and Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. Photos / Getty Images; Supplied Graphic / Herald This is the Robertson-Scott Hansen regime and, despite the clamouring for the captaincy to be shifted to Ardie Savea, Scott Barrett is the third member of the inner sanctum. The power base has been established inside the team, and so too has it been fortified within NZR. In February, a significantly more competent and focused board of directors, led by former All Blacks captain David Kirk, took their seats. They made their presence immediately felt by getting chief executive Mark Robinson to publicly align Robertson with the eligibility policy. This effectively ended what was increasingly being seen as less of a broadly principled quest to update a no longer fit-for-purpose law regime, and more a thinly disguised attempt to bend the rules to select the Japan-based Richie Mo'unga. The greater stability in the wider rugby landscape and the confidence that may have grown within Robertson and his coaching team because of that greater stability could potentially see stage two of the revolution begin with a more radical lens applied to selection this year. Super Rugby has shifted into the playoffs to provide a more intense environment. Perhaps Robertson will be using these next few weeks to decide whether there is room in his 35-man squad for new players, and indeed whether there are some potential unexpected twists in the way some already identified talents could be utilised. Top of the list as a possible new cap will be Chiefs loose forward Simon Parker, whose work this season has been unmissable. He may well be the thundering big lump the All Blacks are constantly hunting for. At 1.97m and 117kg, he's a unique beast in New Zealand. Athletes of these dimensions roam all over Europe, but in New Zealand it is rare to find someone of this size capable of playing in the back-row and able to live with the high-paced, aerobic demands of Super Rugby. Parker may be the player the All Blacks can develop into becoming their version of South Africa's Pieter-Steph du Toit – a feat which would effectively be revolutionary in itself. As a positional twist, perhaps these next few weeks could provide reason for Robertson to double down on using Ruben Love as a wing in the test arena. The 24-year-old won his solitary cap playing on the right wing last year (after running at fullback for the Hurricanes) and has this season shown himself to be a more than capable first five-eighths. Is Love the sort of multi-skilled all-rounder the All Blacks could park in the No 14 jersey to replace the departing Mark Tele'a and give themselves three play-makers on the field at any one time? As revolutionary concepts go, having two natural No 10s in the back three is as radical as they come and would align strongly with Robertson's desire to have his All Blacks play a sweeping style of rugby based on the accuracy of their pass and catch. The revolution did begin last year, just not in the way everyone expected or wanted. But this year, the people need to see what they thought they were going to get in 2024 – a new-look All Blacks team that justified the decision to topple the previous regime. Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.
