The Chiefs rookie surging into ABs bolter conversation

By Christopher Reive

As the first squad selection of the All Blacks’ season approaches, the word ‘bolters’ becomes more and more prevalent.

As fans and pundits run the comb over the performances of some of the less established players in the Super Rugby Pacific season, Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan believes one – if not more – of his squad will be the name that stands out.

For the back half of the season, and particularly in the knockout stages, No 8 Wallace Sititi has gone from a little-known loosie to a semifinal game-changer.

In their win over the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night, the 21-year-old was a force, breaking the line with ball in hand, defending well and making some smart plays including an intercept which led to a try for his side after he picked the Hurricanes’ attack off.

“I thought he was immense. There were a number of involvements and big plays he was involved with. He’s got a massive future,” McMillan said of Sititi.

“There were a lot of good rugby players running out there today. It’s been talked about in the media that this was an All Blacks trial of sorts, and if that was an All Blacks trial then I’m pretty sure a number of our guys would have been putting their name in pencil, if not ink.”

Loose forward stocks are in a good place in the country at the moment. In the semifinal between the Chiefs and Hurricanes alone, there were a handful of players looking to press their claim for a call-up to Scott Robertson’s squad.

The Chiefs’ starting trio of Sititi, Luke Jacobson and Samipeni Finau will all have their admirers, while Peter Lakai, Brayden Iose and Du’Plessis Kirifi have all had strong campaigns of their own.

While Sititi is fresh on the scene, McMillan backed his chances of high honours based on his form for the Chiefs this season.

“You’d have to think that he’s as good a chance as anybody,” McMillan said. “He’s been pretty consistent with his performance. He’s young and still has plenty to learn, but some people just have something about them, don’t they, that catches the eye and he’s one of them.

“But he only gets to do what he does when everyone around him is working hard and I thought [Luke Jacobson] had a massive game. He had some really important turnovers – a bit of a dumb yellow card [for a late tackle on Jordie Barrett], but we survived it, so we’ll be all right.”

Before the All Blacks season comes to the fore, however, the Chiefs will look to go one better than their 2023 finish when they visit the Blues at Eden Park on Saturday for the season finale.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission