Quinn Tupaea: All Blacks centre ahead of the final Rugby Championship clash against Australia

We’ve reached the final round of the Rugby Championship and everything is still up for grabs in the most competitive tournament in quite some time.  

The All Blacks are set to take on the Wallabies in Perth late tonight and although the Bledisloe is locked away for another year, the All Blacks will be desperate to show some consistency and win two in a row for the first time this tournament. 

D'Arcy spoke with Quinn Tupaea, the starting All Blacks centre tonight, to preview the game.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talks I'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'm joined now by Quintupire. He start in the starting
fifteen this week is it center his first start earned
the black jersey in that roles. Now to preview the
test match much later tonight.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hey Quinn, Yeah, cheers. Hey, thanks having me on and thanks.

Speaker 4 (00:29):
Very much for joining us.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
So first up, congratulations on getting a nod for the
thirteen jumper for the the last Rugby Championship Test. They
would have been greeted with a with a big smile.
We're actually getting a starting crack.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah. I was a surprise when my name got caught
on Tuesday morning. Didn't train this for clarity on Monday,
so I didn't have sort of any inside I'd be
named at thirteen, so you know, it was all over
my role. But you're pretty happy to get a start,
and especially in the thirdeen jump. Are you?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Did they have a chat around why they packed you,
take you into a dark room and tell.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
You you just got to guess like everybody else.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
No, I don't really tell you. It's a little bit
of a kissing game. I think a few chats here
and there with coaches around what I can bring to
the team, and they've instilled a lot of confidence into
me this week and had a great week of training.
They're reprepared for this matchup, So yeah, pretty happy.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Have you had a word with Billy Procter because he's
lost his position to you?

Speaker 4 (01:21):
Do you connect around that match.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Or yeah, we've got a lot of tight midfield group
here thought out. I guess obviously, Gutter, you're not playing,
but your job is to uplift a guy who's in
the jumper, and he's been awesome this week himself. Albie
has been awesome for myself, a guy I'm pretty comfortable with.
And then just building that connection with Jordi obviously haven't

(01:44):
played together often, so seeing his tendencies and talking to
him about mine and trying to build that connection here.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
It's not unusual or foreign to you this thirteen role, though,
is it. You've come off the bench of recent times
straight into that role, and you've had a hastory playing
seen to maybe way back in the Wheuple days, early
Chiefs days.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Most of my training has been at center with Jordi
been at twelve, so it's a role I've covered for
the last couple of months with the All Blacks, and
I'm pretty comfortable here in the third end. Jumper obviously
played a lot of Chiefs rugby and in NPC at twelve,
but yeah, I started my career as a center, so
it's it's not a position that's unknown.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Simple VI like for ust, what's the major difference between
the roles center and second.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Five eight twelve. You're a lot closer to the action defensively,
have bodies around you to help you more square on tackles,
tackling a lot of Fords. Midfield, you've sort of got
to look after your wingers a bit more, a lot
more space to cover defensively. Defensively, you're looking outwards more
than inwards of the twelve. So yeah, there's obviously some
defensive differences there, but attack that's very similar twelve. You

(02:53):
don't have much time on the ball with these rush
defenses and center, Yeah, bush roundy outside a bit more here.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, so you've got you've got a rough idea and
interesting talking about pointing in as opposed to point out
out little subtleties around this. When you look at the team,
Quinn and you look at the changes It's been a
number of changes, but some of them are through injury,
some of them are through form. Does that interrupt your
rhythm too much with the amount of changes on a
weekly basis, like not yours, but the team rhythm not

(03:22):
really knowing who's playing when and where.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Not really we we top and change a lot during
the week. Pretty familiar with myself and Demo's game play.
A lot for the Chiefs obviously, trying to build a
connection this week with Jordi, but there's a lot of
cohesion will Jordan saw their bumpers on the wing and
Lisa's a slots and he's an amazing player on the
wing of big body. So yeah, a few movements around,

(03:45):
but you know that connection during the week's important through clarity.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Boompfer as you call them, must be great to be around.
He had quite the match last time out, didn't he.
Leroy Carter you're referencing obviously.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, he's did a great start for international career. He's
got the seven of the engine. He goes by bomf
you see, put on a couple of big shots on
the weekend, and then he can in an Arma attack
as well. He can hurt you there he's a great
man to have on the.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Squad and you're welcoming back, Lester Nicol. You mentioned that
he's it's been a long time out of black but
I'm sure that it'd be hard to hold back right
now that bulk of a human.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
Out of France. He's going to be quite a steam train,
isn't he.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, he's He's a big boy and hard to contain,
and I think getting him some early all on the
weekend is going to be key. Go forward and hats
to be on the defense that he's come back with
the extra few kg's on the body, and that speed
hasn't gotten anywhere either. So he's looking good.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
Good kg's right, not bad kgs?

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah, very good?

Speaker 4 (04:48):
What cross on some red wine? Kgs? I wouldn't possibly
suggest that.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
And you look at the rest of the side the
team that's been named interesting. I did have much to
do with the pack at all. I mean, do you
look at what Peter Lucky is going to bring up
the boot? So did you coming off the bench? It
all seems fairly sensible, doesn't it.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah. I don't have too much to do with the pack,
but Peter obviously an amazing athlete. Wrap it off the
back of the scrum and very physical him and Wallace
like for like, I guess so Wallace just moves to
the bench to bring that punch again. So yeah, it's
an exciting background and an exciting full pack.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
And finally, as always Quinn, thanks very much for your time.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
But what's the focus been this week on what you
learned last week at Eden?

Speaker 4 (05:38):
Part? What do you want to reapply? What do you
want to change, what do you want.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
To subtly adjust? What's the flavor toward dismatch and Perth?

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, I guess missed a lot of opportunities on the weekend.
As a whole, this group hasn't backed up well after
a massive Tests win, so that's been the focus, just
having to reset, trying to win two games. It has been
pretty tough in the Rugby Championship, so everything's on the
line again this weekend. Then we hate losing to the
Australian so it's a game we really want the win

(06:06):
and give us a chance on the Radia Championship two.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
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