New All Black loose forward and Highlanders flanker Shannon Frizell is all set to go tomorrow night when he makes his All Black debut under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Frizell, all 108kg and 1.95m of him, has had a meteoric rise to the black jersey.
The 24-year-old only started playing rugby in his last year at school in Tonga. Before that, he was a goalkeeper for a football side and played for his native Tonga.
But his decision to try his hand at rugby worked wonders and after playing well for a Tongan Marist age grade side in 2014 in New Zealand he was swiftly signed by the Tasman union.
From there he made quick strides up the rugby ladder and All Black coach Steve Hansen admitted yesterday Frizell had come on to their radar when he started playing for Tasman.
He signed for the Highlanders this season and looked impressive when scoring three tries against the Blues in April.
But he made only another couple of starts for the Highlanders and it was a bit of a shock when he was picked for the All Blacks.
The All Black selectors wanted to have a closer look at him but injuries to others have forced their hand and he is set to make his test debut.
Frizell said yesterday he was looking forward to the game and was nervous.
However. the worst part of the week — facing the media — was over now and his job — knock over a few bodies and run hard with the ball — awaited.
Some of his family would be under the roof here and he had also spoken to his brother Tyson, who also has a big game this weekend — he will play for New South Wales in the State of Origin match against the Reds on Sunday night in Sydney.
His brother advised him to ignore the crowd and just get on with the job.
●Just under 1000 tickets were left for the test as of yesterday. Tickets are still available from Ticketek.