Traditional post-match kava will have to wait this time

Joe Rokocoko (left) and Sitiveni Sivivatu regard each other cousins, although they have no blood links. Ross Land / Getty Images

A few years ago, Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu joined a celebratory kava session with the extended family at home in South Auckland.

As the revelry continued, a proud Joe Rokocoko snr congratulated the youngsters on both making the Super 12.

They had brought honour to the family by being picked for the Blues and Chiefs. In an additional toast he pondered on the ultimate, the pair joining forces in the same All Black test team.

On Sunday that fantasy becomes reality at Rustenburg, in the dry, dusty heartland of the African highveld, when the duo line up against the Springboks. The chain of celebration will extend from the family home to all the relatives and wellwishers watching broadcasts in Fiji.

The scorching Rokocoko and Sitiveni, who regard each other as cousins although they have no blood links, are setting a torrid pace with their try-scoring exploits making them among the most lethal finishers in international rugby.

Rokocoko, who is a year younger than 24-year-old Sivivatu, has touched down 31 times in 35 tests while Sivivatu has already notched nine tries in his seven All Black appearances.

But both rate another Fijian flyer, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, as the most dangerous man they have seen on a rugby field.

"That is the guy I have always tried to focus my skills upon," Rokocoko says.

"He was so gifted and talented and when you tried to analyse his methods it was impossible to formulate a defensive plan because Caucaunibuca played on natural instincts. He was cruisey but he had power and in his pomp, around 2002-3, he was devastating.

"He was not the most devoted to training though. He is from the village of relaxation and I remember Peter Sloane asking me to talk to Rups but it was a lost cause. That's what he does.

"Out of all the wingers he is number one, just talent wise, I love watching him play and being in the same team. Playing my first game for the Blues the first thing he advised me was 'just grab the ball and fly, think you can fly' he told me.

"I saw how powerful he was doing one single step and he was gone."

Sivivatu has a similar opinion of his countryman.

"He is the best I have seen, he had everything a rugby player would ever dream of, he was just so fast and powerful."

While Caucaunibuca has drifted in and out of international football because of injury, indiscipline and wrangles with Fijian officialdom, Rokocoko and Sivivatu acknowledge the debt they owe to the New Zealand rugby system.

"The discipline of rugby in New Zealand has helped us. It gives you balance in your life, I love the detail and it helps you as a person on the rugby field and outside," Sivivatu says.

"I did find it hard to start with as a professional rugby player because coming from the islands, I wasn't used to the system. Now I enjoy every moment of this life."

Rokocoko confesses he was a bit laidback as a teenage rugby player.

"We are much more involved in a New Zealand system and I guess we have better knowledge of the do's and dont's and the benefits of training hard but Rups came at a later age.

"Disciplines are not a problem, it is easier now. I guess I was a bit of a Rups during my younger days but I have just absorbed it all and adapted to what is needed."

Rokocoko agrees that while he calls Sivivatu his cousin, it is more a link than a blood connection. Their mothers had common friends and the association grew from there. Sivivatu stayed with the family when he came to New Zealand for his schooling and they have remained very close.

Against England last year Sivivatu came on as a sub for his cousin but that was the nearest they had come to playing together until Sunday.

"It is exciting for them, being related, they have always wanted the opportunity and we have had a bit of a project over a year for Joe being on the right wing," assistant All Black coach Wayne Smith said.

"He was a right wing at school, obviously he has played left wing with Dougie [Howlett] being an institution on the right wing for Auckland and the Blues.

"But it gives Joe an opportunity on the right wing which he likes and it will be a good pairing, they will egg each other on."

The last match Rokocoko played on the right wing was for the Junior All Blacks last year, so this week has been about recharging the memory banks.

"I felt pretty awkward catching the ball on the different side and running through different ways so that is what I have been asking advice from the guys this week.

"A week should be enough to get the instincts right for changing wing and I guess it is more comfortable for Siti on the left."

The pair sidestepped any questions about who was the fastest.

They claimed they laughed too much for any serious comparison to be made. They had never been timed against each other, though both claimed the other had more speed.

Rokocoko says speed against the stopwatch is one thing but it is a different matter when you have space and the ball in hand.

He remembers listening to a motivational speech in 2004 during an All Black tour from the American sprinter Maurice Green who emphasised the importance of power in the legs. Since then he has tried to boost that energy through plenty of gym work.

"This week we have been going full-blast at training and trying to turn on the turbos just to get used to everything, to wake up the body. It is all about finding out what happens when you get into space and working on how you finish the break," he says.

Sivivatu is excited to be injury-free, picked with his mate and much more prepared after his first test this season against the Springboks at Pretoria.

"I have played on the right wing and fullback for the Chiefs but I seem to slot in best on the left," he says.

"I was rusty last week, I feel better now, it is all coming back."

He is looking forward to the open licence given to the back three for Rustenburg.

He's also looking forward to a late kava celebration back in New Zealand.

"I am keen on the kava, it helps after a game just to chill out. It relaxes you, you get closer to your family and talk about things outside rugby. But there isn't any here so it will have to wait."

Joe Rokocoko

* 31 tries in 35 tests

Sitiveni Sivivatu

* 9 tries in 7 tests