Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will leave New Zealand Warriors at the end of 2021 and switch to rugby union; The 27-year-old played rugby for New Zealand at schoolboy level; Tuivasa-Sheck: "Rugby has been the game I've grown up playing. It's always been there in the background."
Saturday 30 January 2021 18:45, UK
New Zealand Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will switch codes at the end of the year in a bid to play for the All Blacks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Tuivasa-Sheck is a former New Zealand rugby union schoolboy international but has played in the National Rugby League for eight years.
The 27-year-old won an NRL title in 2015 with the Sydney Roosters and the Dally M medal as the league's best player in 2018 with the Warriors.
The full-back has also won 20 caps for New Zealand and played at the 2013 and 2017 World Cups, scoring 11 tries in 10 appearances.
"This will be my last year with the club and yes, I will be moving to NZ Rugby next year," Tuivasa-Sheck told a news conference on Saturday.
"Rugby has been the game I've grown up playing. It's always been there in the background. It's always been there, it's no secret."
Tuivasa-Sheck said he would play out one more NRL season as captain of the Warriors before making the move to rugby union.
"It's tough because I've poured a lot into this club so hopefully we can finish off on a high," he said.
Despite his obvious talent, Tuivasa-Sheck faces a stiff challenge if he is to become a dual code New Zealand rugby international before 2023.
Sonny Bill Williams - a forward in league and a back in union - is one of the few who players have successfully managed the transition over the last 20 years, helping the All Blacks to World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015.
"I've been getting a lot of people saying I'm going to the All Blacks, but that's disrespectful to a brand like that," said Tuivasa-Sheck, who has been strongly linked with a move to the Blues, who like the Warriors are based in Auckland.
"My whole thing is just to go back and play rugby. You don't just walk into a brand like the All Blacks, you've got to earn your way in."
