He is the one with the sparkly eyes and beaming smile.
Highlanders halfback Folau Fakatava showed a lot of teeth at yesterday’s press conference.
The Tongan-born 22-year-old has been named on the All Blacks’ bench for the second test against Ireland in Dunedin tomorrow.
And he was pretty happy about it, too. He could not stop smiling.
"I’m obviously excited to make my debut for the ABs. Finally the dream is going to come true. I’m pretty chill, eh," he said.
Fakatava’s route into the national side was a little complicated. He found himself in the odd position of being declared ineligible for the All Blacks earlier this year despite having been eligible to play for them since late 2020.
World Rugby shifted the goal posts from a three-year qualification period to five years while he was sidelined with an injury. New Zealand Rugby argued the case, and in May he was cleared to play for his adopted country.
But his All Black family are pretty proud, too.
He is rooming with reserve hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho this week and the pair shared the stage during the press conference.
With all the attention directed at Fakatava, Taukei’aho barely fielded a question.
But he got his own back. He gently roughed up Fakatava at the end for hogging the limelight, and also revealed a little about Fakatava’s personality.
When asked whether his room-mate was a tidy one, there was long pause.
"Um ... . yeah, I think he is.
"I’m excited for him to get out there and do his thing. Like he said, it is a dream come true for him and I can’t wait to see him go out there, especially at home in Dunedin."
