Rugby: Samoa wing going from obscure WA club to facing the All Blacks

Albert Nikoro is going from Western Australian club rugby to facing the All Blacks and hopefully onto a Mitre 10 Cup contract.

The 24-year-old will line up on the right wing for Manu Samoa, his sixth test match, this Friday night against the All Blacks at Eden Park. Renowned in his school and provincial days as a fullback with pace and a booming boot, Nikoro has eight Super Rugby caps with the Blues and Western Force under his belt, but none in 2017. The WA franchise is facing the chop, but Nikoro has decided to return home with the aim of winning a provincial contract for this season. A standout showing against the best team in the world will help.

Nikoro has been turning out for the West Scarborough club.

"It's been a frustrating year so far, just playing club rugby, but ended up on the right wing for the whole season. It was a fluke coming into this team that they were looking for a right wing. I can play anywhere in the backline, wing, centre or fullback," says Nikoro, who has played for Auckland, Waikato and Tasman in a nomadic career.

His 2015 plan was to get onto the Wallabies pathway and he had an ARU development contract, but last season he threw his lot in with Samoa and hasn't looked back. There is a strong family feel to Manu Samoa and his Vaiala and Vaiusu roots are uppermost in his mind.

"I thought I would give it my best shot in going down this track. Seeing how well this team has played in the past and how good they have been, it feels special moving forward," Nikoro says.

The introduction of Aaron Mauger to the coaching staff has been a boon for Nikoro. The former All Black, who has Samoan blood, has helped his game "leaps and bounds", says Nikoro. Mauger has always appealed as having an astute rugby brain and is looking closely at the Manu attack.

Nikoro knows that taking on the All Blacks, and possibly marking Julian Savea, will represent one of the biggest games of his career, but he is not shirking from the occasion.

"We know we have a team to take it to the All Blacks and not be afraid of anything, play to our strengths. It makes me feel a whole lot more confident. All the guys in the backline are really switched on and like to play what's in front of them."

There is the seasoned halves pairing of Kahn Fotuali'i and Tusi Pisi, with Alapati Leiua and Kieron Fonotia in the midfield, with Tim Nanai-Williams and Ahsee Tuala rounding out the back three. Off the bench comes wing Ken Pisi, who can be very sharp (his brother George is absent with a knee injury) and first five D'Angelo Leuila, a capable pivot who was playing club rugby for Papatoetoe, Nikoro's 2011-12 club, just 11 days ago.

Tusi Pisi will take most of the shots but Nikoro will put his hand up if any 50m penalty goal attempts present themselves. This is a man who can land a long-range bomb, as those who saw him bang a 59m monster in the 2014 Waikato v Canterbury ITM Cup can attest.

A top athlete in his schooldays at MAGS, Nikoro has not forgotten his roots. He was a key man as MAGS won the 2010 Auckland 1A and national Top 4 titles under the captaincy of lock Michael Fatialofa, now with the Hurricanes.

"I've still been following them. This year hasn't gone so smoothly, but going top last year gave me a real sense of pride. Hopefully they can turn their (0-4) season around," says Nikoro.