Released: 25/09/2024 – 11:35

3 minutes

When Sititi embarked on his debut season with the Chiefs senior team in February, his aim was simply to gain Super Rugby experience after being promoted from the reserve side.

Interestingly, he celebrated his 22nd birthday on September 7, making his first Test appearance against the Springboks in Cape Town.

“I never in my life thought this would happen,” he told AFP at the All Blacks training base near Wellington this week. “I’m still pinching myself.”

Although Sititi was raised in Auckland, his father, former Samoa captain Semo Sititi, was playing rugby for the Scottish club when he was born.

Semo named his son after his hero, Scottish warrior William Wallace, who helped defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and was loosely played by Mel Gibson in the 1995 film Braveheart.

“My parents thought the name William was too common, so they used Wallace,” Sititi said.

He described his breakthrough season as “crazy.”

With some incredible running and solid defence, Sititi secured eighth place in the Chiefs side that reached the Super Rugby final in June, where they lost to Auckland Blues.

A few days later, Sititi was watching the match on his iPad at home when his name was named in the New Zealand squad.

He impressed enough in training to make his debut as a substitute in the All Blacks’ win over Fiji in San Diego, and then made a brief appearance in the home defeat to Argentina.

Confrontation of Kolisi

Sititi was a surprise starter in his first Test match for South Africa alongside veteran forwards Ardie Savea and Sam Cane after injury ruled out full-back Ethan Blackadder.

“It was a shock, especially playing as a flanker. But you go back to preparing, you train well and when you get the shirt, know that you’re borrowing it and make sure you leave it in a better place,” he said.

Despite struggling to sleep the night before the Cape Town Test match (he described it as “a bit of excitement, a bit of nerves”), Sititi put in a compelling performance during the 18-12 defeat.

“It was the biggest game of rugby I’ve ever played in. The fans were amazing, the stadium was huge and it was great,” he said.

Sititi battled bravely against Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, one of his heroes.

They chatted after the final whistle but did not exchange shirts.

“He promised it to one of the boys, so I should have come first,” Sititi said.

He played his fourth Test match last Saturday and made his second start in the thrilling 31-28 win over Australia that helped New Zealand retain the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney.

Sititi justified his selection with some solid tackling and his supporting play posed a threat to the Australian defence.

“He’s come along really quickly in terms of his ability to step up to the next level. He’s a good kid and a good professional,” All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson said.

New Zealand will be looking to end a five-match winless streak in Wellington, which stretches back to 2018, when they host Australia at Sky Stadium on Saturday.

“We’re excited to go out there and play well in our last home game of the season. We have to show some respect to the Wellington name,” Sititi said.

The All Blacks squad will be announced on Thursday.

© 2024 AFP