Athletic. Dynamic. Fast. Skilled.
These are some of the words that were used to describe Vaea Fifita in 2017 when he burst onto the scene with the All Blacks.
His try against the Pumas in New Plymouth was astonishing, one that even Jerome Kaino at his absolute peak could not have scored. That try showed his pace, evasiveness and a degree of athleticism that you just do not see in No 6s, who are known to be bruising defenders and uncompromising ball carriers. Fifita can do all that, win lineout ball and fill in at lock if necessary.
Kaino left for France in 2018 and Fifita might have been his successor. It never happened. There were injuries and Liam Squire roared up the rankings.
Fifita is stranded on 11 tests for the All Blacks, two tries. Those stats tell little of what might have been.
In 2020, I watched him closely for the Hurricanes. Nothing much happened around Fifita. He was listless, lacking energy and the all-important physical presence that all the best No 6s need. He just fell right off the pace, and by season’s end found himself on the Hurricanes’ pine as they preferred the industrious, reliable, but less dynamic Reed Prinsep. It was some comedown for a man who has racked up 68 matches for the Canes.
Nationally, Fifita had lost huge ground to a host of other blindside flankers, notably Cullen Grace and Akira Ioane. The latter, interestingly, is the closest match to Fifita’s athletic profile. Others, such as Tom Robinson and Luke Jacobson, are knocking loudly on the door.
So, to the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup.
It would be a stretch to say Fifita was reborn, but he certainly lifted his game for the Wellington Lions. One of four to start in all 10 games, he did an Akira Ioane, that is, he started playing with intensity, consistency and accuracy. There were three tries, and he galloped in for a double against the Counties Manukau Steelers in Pukekohe. Incidentally, that venue saw his greatest feat of athleticism, when he hurdled (!) Piers Francis in a 2016 match.
Fifita just looked more engaged for the 2020 Lions, for whom he passed the 50-game milestone, and it was a salient reminder that he is not a busted flush.
There were fears that he would sign overseas, leaving behind an All Blacks career that never reached its potential. But he has re-signed for one year with the Hurricanes, leading one to suggest that he is giving it one last burst this season to prove he is not the forgotten man of New Zealand rugby. Failing that, he can earn a shedload in Japan or France or the UK and help set his family up.
Just think of a Hurricanes’ loose trio that reads: Ardie Savea at No 8, Du’Plessis Kirifi at No 7 and a fully engaged Vaea Fifita at No 6. Waiting in behind are Gareth Evans, Prinsep, Devan Flanders and Brayden Iose, all of them good footballers, but none with the raw talent of Fifita.
If he goes well, the Canes will go well, and Fifita may find himself again in the spotlight or even back in black.