Wallace Sititi, who is perhaps the front-runner for 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, maintained his outstanding debut Test season in the All Blacks’ thrilling victory over England this past weekend.
In front of 80,000 spectators in London, the youthful player received Man of the Match after displaying an explosive carry game and making all ten of his tackle attempts.
Many All Blacks assistant coaches discussed the 22-year-old’s form and future after the game, including Scott Hansen.
He has entered the game and, based on his performances, has been extremely dominant. His ball carry, influence, speed, and change of speed have all been dominant. He has a lengthy runway and is a young, calm All Black. The assistant assured Jason Pine of Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport that he will recover.
We simply take great pride in his preparation and the way his weeks go. He is a wonderful young man who is modest, and it is wonderful to watch him perform so well in his first season wearing an All Black jersey.
Returning to your question, which I believe is reasonable, what have we learnt? These are the lessons learnt. Wallace Sititi plays rugby for the All Blacks every weekend, and he is free to select his own moments and how that manifests.
“So, Wallace’s performances and the people around him who are letting him do that really inspire us.”
Following the competition, Sititi himself was interviewed by Sir John Kirwin for The Breakdown, where he was asked how he handles the anxiety of running out for such an event.
“First and foremost, we must accept our current situation. The stadium is large, the atmosphere is intense, and the crowd was very engaged tonight, so I believe it’s really about accepting the pressure and making progress towards it. Sititi responded, “Then it’s just listening to my leaders and the senior boys who have been there and experienced that.”
After such a successful first season in the test arena, Kirwin asked Sititi if he was satisfied with his present performance.
“I believe I’ve somewhat found my rhythm and am happy with my life. It’s about being able to start again every week and being happy with how I prepare because I don’t want to become comfortable because I know someone might come and steal my jersey just like that. It’s important to be happy no matter what happens.
Sititi was thrilled to finish the job after missing selection for the July series. The stage was set for this Test to be a classic with an opponent that had such difficult defensive line speed and the extra pressure of a week of drama over the haka.
“That’s real Test match football right there, and we’ll enjoy that one because it doesn’t happen very often to be able to play against a top-tier England team and win here at Twickenham.”
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