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Lote Tuqiri fails to shine playing for West Harbour in club rugby
June 14, 2009
Towards the end of his club rugby game at Concord Oval, some vocal West Harbour lower-graders were drinking in the grandstand and calling for Lote Tuqiri to be benched.
"Put Tito on," they shouted after Tuqiri failed with a chip-and-chase.
Tito Mua was the man Tuqiri replaced in the West Harbour starting team.
Even for a $600,000-a-year Wallaby, park rugby doesn't come with instant respect.
This wasn't the best day of Tuqiri's rugby career.
West Harbour, who had been on a six-game winning streak, lost to struggling Northern Suburbs 25-21.
Tuqiri had been out-paced to the corner for the first try of the match and torpedoed one pass over the sideline to botch an attacking raid.
He touched the ball just five times in the second half.
But Tuqiri was upbeat at the end of the game, heeding the words of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
"He just said keep being positive," Tuqiri said.
"I think I've been doing that at training and coming out here playing club rugby. It's been all right. He said there'll be a time I get a run, I've just got to bide my time."
Deans believes Tuqiri needs to play more like a rugby winger. To stick more to the sideline, stay out of the the rucks and mauls.
Basically to go against the instincts that made him the best rugby league winger in the world, when involvement was the key.
In an alternate universe, Tuqiri would have been selected in the Queensland State of Origin team this week to play in Sydney next Wednesday week.
Instead, he was at Sydney's Concord Oval playing in front of maybe 500 people.
Another former NRL star, Timana Tahu, was supposed to play in the same West Harbour backline, but he was a late withdrawal because of a hamstring twinge.
Nothing serious, only a week on the sidelines.
Both will be back training with the Wallabies this week, not knowing if they will be playing against Italy in Melbourne next weekend, or returning to Sydney to play for West Harbour.
Tuqiri says he won't get negative, either way.
He's got to look on the bright side.
Missing Wallabies selection meant he was at home for his son Samson's fourth birthday last Thursday.
See, there is always a bright side.
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