To say All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke hopes Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will join him in the Blues backline next year is an understatement.
All Blacks and Blues wing Caleb Clarke. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Captain of the Warriors rugby league team, Tuivasa-Sheck has confirmed he will come back to the 15-man code ahead of the 2022 season.
The Blues were favoured to secure his services, given he lived in Auckland with his young family and was a former under-20 representative for the Auckland-based franchise.
Clarke, who starred for the Blues before making a strong start to his All Blacks career in 2020, said he hoped that was exactly the way it turned out.
"He's unreal. He's been awesome for years and, when he does come over to rugby, he'll be awesome for whoever he plays for.
"Hopefully for our team [because] if I have to mark him I'll be praying every single time he gets the ball and being like 'please don't step me'."
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Photo: Photosport
Clarke's comments made it clear where he stood in the debate about Tuivasa-Sheck's transition back to rugby.
Although he had played for the New Zealand secondary schools team before he was snapped up by the Sydney Roosters NRL side, there had been discussion about how difficult he would find the switch.
Clarke, though, was confident it was a non-issue.
"When you've got such an awesome athlete, such as Roger, who could probably adapt to any form of the game, any team would be lucky to have him.
"He's got fast footwork, he's quick, has high-ball skills from league and he's a really good defender.
"He won't have any sort of problem coming back over to the game."
The young rising star not only believed that, he also had good reason to hope for Tuivasa-Sheck's success.
The pair met through church a couple of years ago and had become close friends, Clarke said.
"I was at the Blues by then and he was already a superstar but he was really cool. He'd talk to me and I'd be like 'oh my gosh, Roger'.
"We see each other here and there ... and whenever he posts on social media I always send him a message wishing him good luck for their next game."