Patrick Tuipulotu has today been grilled by members of the Japanese media about whether being named as All Blacks captain for the Test against Japan in Tokyo tomorrow has changed his life.
No, was the answer to that, and a related question about whether the big lock had received preferential treatment at restaurants got a similar reply.
"I’m not as famous as Scott Barrett," Tuipulotu said, referencing the current skipper in a deadpan response. "Has it changed my life? Not really. I’m still me. It’s an honour to captain the All Blacks – probably the highest honour in rugby. I still line up to get into restaurants."
It will be the first time Tuipulotu, 31, will lead the All Blacks in a Test but he has plenty of experience, given he led the Blues to a Super Rugby championship this year.
Besides which, he has former skipper Sam Cane to lean on at Nissan Stadium against a Japan team coached by Eddie Jones that is in a rebuilding phase.
“It’s not really different. There are guys like Sam Cane in this team who have done what they normally do in this team during the week. I haven’t had to change much… I suppose most of the work will be done in-game.
“I trust that everyone is ready to go, especially at this level.”
As for how he felt to be asked to lead the team by head coach Scott Robertson, Tuipulotu, who has played 46 Tests, said: "I’ve been an All Black for 10 years and seen a lot of leaders come through. To be thought of as having the guts to do it, I’m very proud of the work I’ve done to this moment. But it’s like any game, I have to play well to lead well."
One area of focus tomorrow, as the All Blacks embark on a tour which takes in a tough stretch against England, Ireland, France and Italy in consecutive weeks, is body height when tackling and carrying the ball.
It is a point of difference for Japan’s players, and different to Super Rugby, he said.
"They tackle real low, and carry real low. They’re good in that area – also, they’re quite fast, agile players. I think they’ll try to play a fast game. It’s important we don’t go away from how physical we want to play the game."
Two players – loose forward Peter Lakai and fullback Ruben Love – are in line to make their Test debuts after being named on the reserves bench.
“Peter Lakai, obviously playing against him at the Hurricanes, he’s pretty dynamic at No.7. He’s very fast so I’m pretty happy he’s on my side this week. Ruben Love, he’s pretty skillful at the back and can open the game up at any time so I’m looking forward to him doing that.”
Asked how important the Test was in the wider context of the All Blacks’ tour, Tuipulotu said: “It’s very important. It’s the first week and a half for us as a group… if we do well here, it will set us up well. It will set up the principles in our game plan and help us move well into a tough Europe series.
“Obviously, a Japan team has never won against an All Blacks side and so we don’t want to be the first to let them have that scalp.”
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