It was never really going to be a case of if Asafo Aumua made the All Blacks squad, more a matter of when.
The moment arrived on Monday when the hooker, whose hat-trick in the
under-20 World Cup final in June had him marked out as the next big
thing in New Zealand rugby, was named in the 37-strong party for the
end-of-season tour.
With coach Steve Hansen dispensing this year with the “apprentice”
policy that saw Ardie Savea and Jordie Barrett tour with the All Blacks
to gain experience in 2013 and 2016 respectively, Aumua had to earn his
passage as a playing option.
The quietly spoken 20-year-old did so in no uncertain fashion, with a
series of outstanding performances for Wellington province propelling
him into the squad as the fourth hooker behind Dane Coles, Codie Taylor
and Nathan Harris.
“He’s dominating, he’s dominating when he carries, everything he does,
he does really, really well and stands out,” Hansen told reporters after
naming his squad yesterday.
“That’s not normal for a 20-year-old. So when you see non-normal behaviour which is positive, it’s not too hard to reward it.”
Combining the power of 132-cap All Blacks rake Keven Mealamu and the
speed of Coles, Aumua made his Wellington debut as a teenager last year
and scored a hat-trick of tries against Northland.
But it was his barnstorming performances for the ‘Baby Blacks’ at the
under-20 World Cup earlier this year that thrust him onto the world
stage.
Inspired by a good luck video from the children at the after-school care
centre in Lower Hutt where he still works, Aumua scored five tries
during the tournament.
For the last try of his hat-trick in the 64-17 victory over England in
the final, Aumua showcased his power by wrestling his way through five
would-be tacklers to get to the line.
He has also displayed his pace and skill for Wellington this season,
most notably when he outpaced Taranaki winger Declan O’Donnell to score
one try and stood up Canterbury fullback George Bridge with a stunning
in-and-away for another.
While his skills with ball-in-hand would impress anyone, Hansen will no
doubt be looking just as carefully at his core skills at the scrummage
and lineout while they are on tour.
“We’ll just do what we do with every new All Black, we’ll just make sure he is ready to go,” Hansen said.
“And how much he gets will depend on how ready he is. He seems to be a
pretty mature young man. He’s got an opportunity now to spend some time
with three good hookers and learn from them and he’ll get a little bit
of game time.
“He’s one for the future probably but right now we’ll get to know him.”
With matches against the Barbarians and a French XV among the five games
on the tour, Aumua could pull on the famous black jersey and still
return home without a test cap to his name.
“The opportunity of this tour with the Barbarians game and the second
French game just gives us the opportunity to play someone like him,”
Hansen added.
“We need four hookers and he’s the obvious young up-and-comer. Rather
than being an apprentice, he’ll get to tour and play. He’s pretty
special so we’ll see how he goes.”
SQUAD
Forwards: Asafo Aumua (Wellington Hurricanes), Dane Coles (Hurricanes),
Nathan Harris (Waikato Chiefs), Codie Taylor (Canterbury Crusaders),
Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Kane Hames (Chiefs), Nepo Laulala (Chiefs),
Tim Perry (Crusaders), Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (Hurricanes), Ofa
Tu’ungafasi (Auckland Blues), Scott Barrett (Crusaders), Luke Romano
(Crusaders), Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues), Samuel Whitelock ( Crusaders),
Sam Cane (Chiefs), Vaea Fifita (Hurricanes), Jerome Kaino (Blues),
Kieran Read (capt, Crusaders), Ardie Savea (Hurricanes), Liam Squire
(Otago Highlanders), Matt Todd (Crusaders)
Backs: Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), Aaron
Smith (Highlanders), Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes) Lima Sopoaga
(Highlanders), Ryan Crotty (Crusaders), Jack Goodhue (Crusaders), Ngani
Laumape (Hurricanes), Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs), Sonny Bill Williams
(Blues), David Havili (Crusaders), Matt Duffie (Blues), Rieko Ioane
(Blues), Damian McKenzie (Chiefs), Waisake Naholo (Highlanders), Seta
Tamanivalu (Crusaders)
Itinerary
Nov 4: v Barbarians at
Twickenham
Nov 11: v France in Paris
Nov 14: v French XV at Lyon
Nov 18: v Scotland at Edinburgh
Nov 25: v Wales at Cardiff
Asafo Aumua is one of four uncapped players named in New Zealand’s squad.
