{"id":30427,"date":"2021-02-04T00:13:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T01:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=30427"},"modified":"2021-02-04T03:03:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T03:03:18","slug":"how-rts-bombshell-could-shake-up-world-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=30427","title":{"rendered":"How RTS bombshell could shake up world order"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's defection to rugby<\/a> isn't just a hammer blow to the New Zealand Warriors.<\/p>\n

It is also crushing news for the Kiwis in their bid to win a second Rugby League World Cup in England this year.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus permitting, the World Cup is scheduled for October-November and, believe it or not, New Zealand have entered 2021 as the planet's No.1 ranked team.<\/p>\n

But it appears likely the Kiwis will have to try and live up to that billing without one of their best players in Tuivasa-Sheck.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A New Zealand Herald report suggested that the gun fullback may skip the tournament to fast track his All Blacks ambitions by playing in the national provincial competition.<\/p>\n

Tuivasa-Sheck told reporters that those plans had not yet been decided but Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was planning for life without Roger in an interview with Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

"They are big shoes to fill and it's going to be hard," said Watene-Zelezniak, who will likely play at fullback in Tuivasa-Sheck's absence.<\/p>\n

"I'm sure Roger will still be there for advice and amongst it.<\/p>\n

"I'll be chatting to him, he'll still be in New Zealand so he's not too far from home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"My body will probably be saying 'thank you' (not having to tackle him in the NRL) but he's a big factor in the Kiwis as well.<\/p>\n

"The confidence that he gives each of us in the Kiwis \u2013 it's going to be tough seeing him leave at the end of the year."<\/p>\n

Watene-Zelezniak is close with Tuivasa-Sheck and the code switch came as no surprise.<\/p>\n

It is a move that the former would never countenance – it might cost a him a seat at the family Christmas table.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs man is the great grandson of Puti Tipene (Steve) Watene – a rugby league pioneer in the 1930s.<\/p>\n

\"JT<\/p>\n

Watene was the first M\u0101ori man to captain the Kiwis before becoming a member of parliament.<\/p>\n

"My family was sort of against union," Watene-Zelezniak said with a grin.<\/p>\n

"Back in New Zealand it was always league, league, league.<\/p>\n

"But I'm excited to see Roger in another code and where he can take his dreams and his career.<\/p>\n

"I wasn't too surprised – any code would want to take Roger.<\/p>\n

"He's not just an awesome athlete, he's an awesome person too so it's going to be sad seeing him leave the NRL.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I'll be following him all the way and I hope he does really well.<\/p>\n

"I'm happy for him and his family and him getting to live some dreams and achieve some goals that he's always had."<\/p>\n

Watene-Zelezniak was confident the Michael Maguire-coached Kiwis would find a way to remain a force without Tuivasa-Sheck.<\/p>\n

"It's our culture \u2013 any time you get to put on that jersey, you put it on like it's your last time.<\/p>\n

"You're always at your best or you want to be at your best and that's all you can ever hope for as a player."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's defection to rugby isn't just a hammer blow to the New Zealand Warriors. It is also crushing news for the Kiwis in their […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30427"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30429,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30427\/revisions\/30429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}