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Manu Vatuvei didn’t have to be particularly brutal last weekend to score four tries against England in a pool match in Newcastle that really meant nothing.
But Ruben Wiki, the most-capped league international of all time and now a member of the New Zealand coaching staff, has taken Vatuvei under his wing since he made his Test debut as a teenager in the 2005 Tri-Nations, scoring a hat-trick against Great Britain at Loftus Road on an evening that former Irish winger Brian Carney would rather forget.
Vatuvei credits Wiki with helping him through the low point of a four-year career in the NRL with the Warriors when he fumbled six high kicks in a heavy defeat against the Parramatta Eels in 2007.
After playing for New Zealand in the 2005 Tri-Nations as a teenager, his form had plummeted after some error-ridden performances for his club side, the New Zealand Warriors.
His confidence was in tatters.
Fast forward a year and the problem facing England now is that Vatuvei’s confidence is at an all-time high after a strong finish to the NRL season followed by those four tries last weekend
Vatuvei, who lines up on the wing against England tomorrow in a more significant World Cup semi-final in Brisbane, is typically quietly spoken and modest about his record-breaking achievement in Newcastle.
He gave special mention to the performance from Kiwi fullback Lance Hohaia, who assisted in all of the “the Beast’s” four tries last week.
But what has arguably triggered a drastic form revival in Vatuvei is Wiki’s influence. The 55 test veteran has been at the forefront of Vatuvei’s rise back to prominence in 2008.
Although his showing against Australia in the opening game of the World Cup was disappointing, under Wiki, Vatuvei has remained headstrong, emphasised by his performances against Papua New Guinea and England.
Now, a new challenge confronts Wiki as he finds himself aiding the development of the Kiwi national team into world beaters.
Even though that task alone will stretch Wiki more than 80 minutes of football ever could, at least he can take credit in the fact that he has already developed one of New Zealand’s most enigmatic players into a match winner.
One down, sixteen others to go.