Photos: All Blacks training sessionKEY POINTS:
Recalled tighthead prop John Afoa lost his way after his All Black debut, a victim of taking that early promotion as a fail-safe selection.
There is no way, he says, he wants to repeat that mistake. Afoa has come full circle, capped as a young man against Ireland in 2005, he is back for his fourth test against Ireland this Saturday in Wellington.
It has been about 18 months since he last ran on in the All Black strip and that was as a substitute in the 2006 tour to Europe, his only appearance in the four-match itinerary.
He was in the middle of a fade in form, something he feels was caused by his early elevation to the All Blacks and his inability to understand how much more he needed to improve his game.
Afoa is the first test replacement for the departed Carl Hayman and has won the start against a fatigued Greg Somerville or Neemia Tialata who are also in the scrum. If the timing was not spot on three years ago, this should be the occasion for Afoa to nail down his test credentials.
The 24-year-old prop was part of a dominant Blues scrum in the Super 14 and the message from the selectors has been all about reproducing that consistency.
"When I look back it was early and I thought I could just stay in the team when I first made it but the following year I did not play well, I was all over the show," Afoa said.
"But the last year has been really solid for me since the Juniors competition and then with Auckland and the Blues. It has been about a change in attitude and paying more attention to detail.
"I was happy to just play for Auckland and the Blues, I did not have that burning desire. But when I missed out in a couple of seasons I started to get a bit more desperate and got my hunger back."
After last year's Super 14 when he felt dissatisfied with his work, Afoa pared his technique back and started again. He challenged his setup, his bindings, lines and feet positioning. The improvements started to come and burst through this season.
"There are a lot of good props around and I have been fortunate to make it but that is just the start," Afoa said. "Getting the scrums right will set the standards for the rest of the team against Ireland. They have a strong tight five and that is where everything will be sorted."
Another of Afoa's teammates from the Blues, Anthony Tuitavake, is making his debut after vacancies left when Doug Howlett went overseas and Joe Rokocoko had wrist surgery.
Twin test departures were also twin exits from the Blues and the chance for Tuitavake to shine when he might have expected to take his chance in midfield.
"I felt fortunate to get in ahead of guys like Lelia Masaga and Hosea Gear who had very good seasons," he said. "Now I just want to treat this game as normally as I can. There will be more pressure but I am picking the others' brains to see how they deal with it, making sure I am over the gameplan and not changing my routines too much."
