All Black winger Joe Rokocoko is being selected on reputation rather than form. Photo / Getty Images
Jonah Lomu grabbed the headlines this week for his body building exploits but it's another Pacific-born All Blacks winger whose muscled frame is coming under the microscope.
A bulked-up Joe Rokocoko's continual selection - he will start his eighth test of the year in the Tri-Nations finale against Australia in
Wellington on Saturday - draws more criticism every week as he struggles to unearth the dynamic form of his early career.
His 60th test is yet another chance for the 26-year-old to add to his 44-try test tally, something he has managed just once in the last two years - against Italy in June.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has shown more patience towards the Nadi-born Rokocoko than other player this season because of his past deeds.
Henry reckoned the man who scored a world record 17 test tries in his debut year of 2003 remained a massive talent but possessed a different game to six years ago because his body shape has changed to a more bulky model.
The change was a result of his Pacific gene pool rather than gym work, Henry believed, and was something he had seen in other big name players of yesteryear.
"I think it's probably cultural, rather than anything else," Henry said.
"I go back to our old mate Inga (Va'aiga) Tuigamala. He was the best schoolboy footballer I ever saw but he was probably 80kg or 85kg.
"When he played for the All Blacks he was 100kg and he was slower."
Henry said Tuigamala was a quality test player and remained a leading professional when he switched to rugby league in 1994. However, he never possessed the "electric feet" of his youth.
"But his body type changed as he got older and Melanesian/Polynesian gentlemen do that," Henry said.
"You couldn't call Joe Rokocoko fat. He is a big man and he doesn't overdo the weights either, that's just what it's like.
"Some of these are beyond the players' control, I just think it's the ageing process."
Rokocoko's retention came under serious discussion around the selection table this week, with Hosea Gear's merits closely considered, Henry said.
Rokocoko's survival probably owes plenty to the groin injury suffered by his second cousin Sitiveni Sivivatu on the other wing, who has been replaced by the deserving Cory Jane.
- NZPA
