Waratahs wing Taqele Naiyaravoro credits fitness campaign for superb try-scoring feats

WHEN Taqele Naiyaravoro hauled himself off the ground to take a second pass and score a superb try against the Rebels, there was no-one more shocked than the 123 kilogram winger himself.

Try time!

WHEN Taqele Naiyaravoro hauled himself off the ground to take a second pass and score a superb try against the Rebels, there was no-one more shocked than the 123 kilogram winger himself.

Second efforts, Naiyaravoro concedes, just haven’t ever been his thing.

“I felt that was really surprising as well, because I never used to do that,” Naiyaravoro said.

“Obviously with that (second efforts), all the hard work we had done in the pre-season is showing. I am very proud of that and obviously that will keep pushing me to go forward.”

Taqele Naiyaravoro beats Reece Hodge.

Naiyaravoro’s 25-minute cameo off the Waratahs’ bench helped NSW put the Rebels to the sword last weekend. The giant wing ran for 115 metres and scored two of the Waratahs’ five tries after oranges to yet again give an example of his power when given the ball in a sliver of space.

The second-effort try stood out to coaches, in particular. Naiyaravoro took a crosskick and as he was tackled and went to ground, he offloaded. Naiyaravoro then picked himself up, supported and took a last pass further up the field for a try.

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Naiyaravoro admits it wouldn’t have happened last year, in particular, when he ballooned out to 136kg.

“Basically the fitness was a big problem for me last year. But it was also a bit of not having the thinking — to pass the ball, get up and support it,” Naiyaravoro said. “But that comes through fitness as well. Without that fitness I probably couldn’t do it. But the last few weeks of pre-season really helped me get up.”

The big winger fends off Naivalu.

Naiyaravoro was smashed in pre-season fitness, and even stayed in Australia over Christmas instead of returning to see family in Fiji. He has been disciplined in his diet and dropped 12 kilograms -and counting.

“It felt good. Obviously a lot of hard work paid off individually for me, match fitness-wise. It felt good to come off the bench and have that impact,” he said.

A Fox Sports player mic on Kurtley Beale captured the NSW centre telling Naiyaravoro “that’s the T I want to see every week”.

Try time!

Consistency is key, Naiyaravoro said.

“For me hearing that from him (was good), he is one of the big game players in the team and when he says that to me, it was like “wow”. That’s the standard to get myself to that position,” he said.

“When you are the impact person, it’s important that you finish off the game for the boys. You might be in the lead or behind, so impact person is such an important role.”

Meat pies galore for Taqele Naiyaravoro.

With the Waratahs on a bye weekend ahead of their next clash with the Brumbies, Naiyaravoro and 20 other Waratahs squad members will return to their club teams to play in trials. The Shute Shield begins in two weeks time.

“It’ll be good to go back and play Shute Shield with West Harbour and play with the boys and enjoy rugby. It’s just like going back to the backyard and enjoying your rugby,” Naiyaravoro said.

Originally published as Waratahs wing Taqele Naiyaravoro credits fitness campaign for superb try-scoring feats