Vaea Fifita's done a fair job of hiding his light under a bushel.
The big blindside flanker is shy. Some rugby players happily court publicity, but the 25-year-old Tongan has quietly progressed from the island of Vava'u, through schools rugby in Auckland, the Wellington club scene, provincial and Super Rugby and all the way to the All Blacks with only a select few knowing anything about him.
When you keep as low a profile as Fifita, it would be easy to get overlooked. Although not, as it turns out, by Steve Hansen.
Blindside flanker Vaea Fifita has been given a huge endorsement by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
The All Blacks coach made some extraordinary claims and comparisons about Fifita on Thursday, that means no-one will ever miss him again. They were all true; it's just that coaches rarely talk up players, particularly largely unknown ones, to that degree.
"Vaea's a really, really good athlete. Probably one of the best athletes I've had anything to do with, from a natural just sheer ability [point of view]," Hansen said.
In concert with All Blacks strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill, Fifita has added six kilograms to his frame in recent times. Listed not long ago at 107kg, Fifita is now in the 116kg bracket, said Hansen, and had the same speed and endurance as before.
Having made his test debut against Samoa earlier this season, Fifita will be unleashed upon Argentina at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday. He might be just one test into his career, but the coach is predicting big things.
"So I want to see a real physical beast that we know he can be. But we also want to see him do his core roles, you know, dominate in the tackle, dominate when he carries, use his ball skills in the contact area as well," said Hansen.
"So we're expecting a lot from him because we believe he's got a lot in him. We're going to aim high for him and he needs to aim high as well and - if we aim high - I think he'll hit the target."
Fifita terrorised club players after arriving in Wellington. Playing at No 8 for the Wellington club, it wasn't uncommon to see him pick the ball up from a scrum five metres from his own line and dot down at the other end.
More recently, the presence of people such as Victor Vito, Blade Thomson and Brad Shields meant he played quite a lot at lock for the Hurricanes. But Fifita finished this Super season at blindside flanker and most see his future in that position.
"He's just about one of the fastest people we've got in the team so that's not bad for a 6," continued Hansen.
"He is physical, he likes being physical and that's not something you can coach; that's something that comes from inside you. That's a Jerome Kaino-type player, a Jerry Collins, Rodney So'oialo-type player. Chris Masoe.
"All those guys really liked and enjoyed being physical and it's quite handy to have someone in your team like that, because it usually puts the fear of God in the opposition - if they're good at it - and we're hoping he's going to be good at it."
You can't say Argentina - and everyone else - haven't been warned.
