Sitting down at the All Blacks’ team hotel in Auckland, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck presents himself as a rookie beyond his years in every sense of the meaning.
After all, he’s in the camp with an NRL resume rugby league players dream of, a skillset rugby union players fantasize about and a willingness to learn that sports coaches pray for.
But that’s who Tuivasa-Sheck is – a "student of the game" willing to do anything to be better.
"I enjoy learning and I enjoy growing," Tuivasa-Sheck told Breakfast’s Jenny May Clarkson.
"Most of the time I humble myself and say, ‘hey, I’m a rookie’. I’ve got to be a sponge and I’m happy to do that.
"That’s what all the great players keep telling me – if you want to be better, then you’re constantly learning."
Speaking exclusively to Clarkson ahead of tomorrow’s Bledisloe Test at Eden Park – his home as a Blues player and Otahuhu College First XV old boy – the 29-year-old is itching to earn his second Test cap after waiting in the wings for the entire Rugby Championship to date.
But once again, that professionalism helps keep his perspective in check.
"There’s a squad of 36 and only 23 get named," he said.
"So every week we’re trying our best but if you don’t get named, you keep turning up.
"I’m already where I want to be. I’m at the pinnacle in the All Blacks camp."
Tuivasa-Sheck will get to turn up to the Auckland fortress tomorrow though with his selection on the bench as cover for the All Blacks new-look backline featuring Jordie Barrett in the midfield covering injuries to David Havili and Quinn Tupaea.
READ MORE: All Blacks: Jordie Barrett into midfield, Savea back at No.8
He’ll likely have a similar role to his All Blacks debut in July in the 22-32 loss to Ireland although he hopes both his impact, and the result, will be different.
"I remember coming into the game and I went chasing," he recalled from Wellington.
"I went chasing trying to find the ball, trying to find a way into the game but that’s not my role as a midfielder.
"It’s tough because I want to get into the game as quick as I can but I’ve just got to play my role and know what’s best for the team."
Covid, family the 'final push' for rugby return
Adjusting to life as a "role" player has been new for Tuivasa-Sheck.
After all, in rugby league he was one of the game’s best with an NRL title, 20 Test caps and a Dally M Medal to prove it.
"I miss it a bit – I miss the team and all the boys, especially my Warriors crew," he said.
"I back all the ex-Warriors boys in the finals this week and just hoping for good games."
But it was rugby league, or specifically the NRL’s Covid bubble set up that saw the Warriors based in Australia for three seasons, that ultimately saw the electrifying fullback leave the game.
"Covid was the final push for me," he said.
"Since I’d been away from the rugby space, I was always back and thinking, ‘man, can I challenge those guys?’ and I’d look at the boys in the All Blacks, especially during the [2017] Lions Tour and thought how I’d love to play on that big stage.
"But being away from home and being away from my kids [during the Covid Bubble], when I worked out that we were going to be away for a third year, that’s when I put my hand up and said, 'I love it here but I can’t be away from my young ones for three years'.
"That was the final push for me to see if I could come back and have a crack."
While the dream of playing in the black jersey drives him, family is still everything for Tuivasa-Sheck – his two kids, both under five, don’t even know he’s an All Black.
And he’s fine with that.
"The biggest thing for me with my kids is I just want them to look back and say, ‘dad was here’," Tuivasa-Sheck said.
"Talking to a lot of the old boys is tough – their kids say, ‘my dad wasn’t at my birthday,’ or, ‘my dad wasn’t at my first game,’ and that hits me tough.
"The decisions and choices I’ve made are for that."
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