Despite starting for New Zealand in their recent triumph over South Africa in Auckland, exciting winger Mark Telea is not resting on his laurels ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
The start of this year’s global showpiece in France is less than two months away, and the competition for places in the All Blacks squad – especially among the wings – is intense.
Several classy wings in All Blacks squad
For their first Rugby Championship Test against Argentina, Caleb Clarke and Emoni Narawa were the starting wings but Will Jordan and Telea replaced them for the clash with South Africa.
The All Blacks were victorious in both those matches, but Telea knows that with the likes of Leicester Fainga’anuku and the uncapped Shaun Stevenson still waiting in the wings, there’s still plenty of competition for places in the All Blacks’ run-on side.
“I’m not that comfortable, but you just take it as it comes,” he told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash in Melbourne.
“When you get an opportunity to play in a team like this, you just go with it.
“You just roll with the punches, don’t look back, cherish every moment, and try and get better every day as a team and as a player.
“As Anton [Lienert-Brown] said, I’m trying to learn how to play No.10, so watch out boys,” he joked.
Telea made his Test debut against Scotland at Murrayfield last year, but despite establishing himself in the three-time world champions’ squad, he feels the increased depth in the All Blacks is a good thing for the team.
“For us, it’s just week by week,” he said. “We just focus on the games we have, and we trust the coaches will help us get through our week.
Looking forward to upcoming games
“We just focus on the games ahead of us, and those [World Cup] games will come when they come and we look forward to that.
“It’s good. It gets everyone competitive and makes you realise that not everything is going to be easy, and you can just walk in and grab a spot.
“Heaps of the group are competitive and, for us, we just come in and do our jobs, trust one another and whoever gets the position, gets the position. We all work hard for it.”
READ MORE: All Black insists that the Bledisloe Cup is ‘different’ ahead of Melbourne Test
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