ITโS JUST OVER five years since Charles Piutau was darting around in an Ulster jersey, but the memories of his ferocious power, dazzling footwork, and outrageous offloading surely remain fresh in the minds of the northern provinceโs fans.
If weโre talking about individuals who can blow a game open with their brilliance, then Piutau is a prime example.
He did it for Ulster for two seasons before moving on to Bristol, who he has just left in order to join the Shizuoka BlueRevs. Before heading on that new adventure in Japanโs ever-growing League One competition, Piutau will be one of Tongaโs stars at the World Cup, where they will face Ireland in Pool B. This will be Piutauโs first World Cup, having been left out by the All Blacks in 2015 after confirming a move to Wasps.
Having previously won 17 caps for New Zealand, Auckland native Piutau switched allegiance to the Tongans last year. His last All Blacks cap came back in 2015 so he had more than served the three-year stand-down period.
Piutau qualifies for Tonga through his parents. His older brother, Siale, captained Tonga to the last World Cup before retiring from international rugby.
Charlesโ debut came against Fiji in last yearโs Pacific Nations Cup on the same day as former Wallabies fullback Isreal Folau won his first cap. There was no doubt in Tonga head coach Toutai Kefuโs mind that Piutau would be his new first-choice number 15, with Folau lining up on the right wing.
Last weekend, the pair made their second appearances for the โIkale Tahi and Piutau was at fullback with Folau wearing the number 14 shirt again.
There were several other stars in the Tonga team, including ex-All Blacks Malakai Fekitoa and Vaea Fifita, debutant Toulouse centre Pita Ahki, and relentless Moana Pasifika back row Solomone Funaki, but Piutau was the most eye-catching player as Kefuโs team recorded a 27-21 win over a strong Australia A team.
It was an excellent start to Tongaโs World Cup build-up in front of a passionate home crowd in Nukuสปalofa, with Piutau at the heart of most of the best stuff as Tonga built a remarkable 24-0 half-time lead that showed their potential.
31-year-old Piutau scored his first Tonga try in the third minute and he was key to injecting momentum into the Tongan attack soon before dotting down as he linked with 34-year-old Folau down the right-hand side.
Watch below as Folau throws a brilliant one-handed offload to Piutau in behind an Australian tackle.
Piutau then shows his power to break the initial tackle attempt on him before offloading when the second tackle sticks.
Tongaโs forwards carry strongly and then five phases later, out-half William Havili takes advantage of the narrowed-up Australian defence to float a pass wide to Piutau, whose finish is commanding.
Tongaโs potent start clearly shook the Australia A team, who struggled to steady the ship until an improved second half.
Soon after his try, Piutau used his left foot to make a long clearing kick from inside the Tongan 22, sparking a kick exchange that left the Aussies pinned in their own half, where they conceded a penalty. A second Tongan try followed through left wing Fine Inisi.
In the build-up to their third, Piutau showed his value as a distributor, as we see below.
Having set up as second receiver, Pituau has helped to organise a bit of shape outside him and makes a good decision to pass out the back of Inisi, whose run draws in an Australian defender, allowing Ahki to make inroads.
Piutau then follows up by picking the ball from the breakdown and surging forward, drawing a high tackle penalty from the Aussies.
Tonga score from that subsequent penalty pressure, with Funaki smashing his way over.
The Tongans added their fourth try in the 34th minute and Piutau was once again at the heart of it.
An Australia knock-on gives Tonga a promising midfield scrum and we can see Piutau having a word with scrum-half Sonatane Takulua, clearly giving him directions for whatโs to follow.
The Tongan play is simple and clever. As indicated below, Takalua darts to the right of the scrum in order to lure opposite number Jake Gordon and Aussie number eight Seru Uru across to that side, initially at least.
The aim is to give Piutau, circled in blue, as much space and time on the ball as possible.
Tonga number eight Vaea Fifita hits Piutau with an accurate pass and then we see the devastating effect his footwork and offloading ability can have as he gets outside centre Joey Walton and drags wing Lachie Anderson in, giving Inisi space down the left touchline.
Itโs a beauty of a one-handed offload by Piutau. From there, Inisi chips ahead and Tonga get a rather fortuitous bounce, allowing them to score.
Fittingly, itโs Takulua who dives on the ball to ground it, having sprinted upfield after his dummy run to the right of the scrum.
The second half wasnโt as comfortable for Tonga as they were forced to do more defending.
Piutau only had to make two tackles in the game, but they were both important.
In the minutes after half time, Australia A broke through in midfield and Piutau needed to make this try-saving tackle on Lachlan Swinton.
Piutau is swiftly back to his feet and almost intercepts Swintonโs offload but knocks it forward instead. The Australians do score from the ensuing scrum.
The Tongan fullback is a major threat on kick return and he showed that ability in the 54th minute.
Watch below as Piutau spots replacement Australian tighthead prop Sam Talakai, uses his goosestep to accelerate almost back downfield initially but outside Talakai, scorch past him to break, then find an inside pass to former Connacht lock Leva Fifita.
Late on in the game, Piutau shows his alertness to scoop up a loose ball and offload to Folau, who nearly sneaks through.
While the Tongans will be frustrated with their relative lack of control in the second half, the win over Australia A was a decent start to their World Cup preparations.
Piutau was involved in so much of their best work, underlining how key he will be when it comes to Pool B in France, where they face Ireland in their opening game on 16 September in Nantes.
This weekend, things move up a notch for Kefuโs side as they travel to face Fiji, who boast their own array of exciting stars.
As much as I want England to win the World Cup and Erasmus to lose it, Iโd absolutely love if Jones walked away with a World Cup winners medal. I know he had an offer on the table from munster and he turned it down but I canโt help but feeling heโs a loss to Irish rugby and that the IRFU and munster should have done more to keep him involved, even if it wasnโt with Munster.
@Jim Demps: really. Surprised.
Dont want to bad mouth the man, he was a great player. But tbought, he was a very poor attack coach. Herd from a source in the camp, that the players were getting depressed with the lack of invention in regards to attack play.
Do wish him well tho
@Paddy Waggon: era heโs only 32 as well, if we want to be developing Irish coaches then we need to give them a chance.
@Jim Demps: It was probably the best time for him personally to get away given heโs not tied down with family yet so the world is his oyster and a change of scenery is probably needed given how much of a target he became for the keyboard warriors. Heโll have no trouble finding himself work and thereโs no way thatโs the last of him coaching within the IRFU.
@Eddie Hekenui: yeah Iโd hope heโll come back in alright. As it stands there arenโt a whole pile of Irish lads in front line roles, Carolan and Duffy in connacht, Leo Cullen and Jared Payne would be about it. Itโd be nice to see a few lads progress a bit and have a few more Irish lads ready to take on big roles. Rog, Davidson, Kidney, McCall are all top class coaches and the IRFU should be trying to get them employed at home.
@Jim Demps: I donโt see the need to have them all employed in Ireland. That just creates a closed loop. Far better to have them start off here, earn their spurs and then head off to wherever they can get jobs to experience different ideas, experiences and cultures. Then they can take all that knowledge and bring it back to Ireland. Them moving on also clears space for another young coach or two to move up the ladder.
@Jim Demps: Hugh Hogan is doing a good job at Leinster. He gained most of his knowledge in the AIL, good to see coaches from that level stepping up. Can see him continuing to progress.
@Eddie Hekenui: yeah thatโs fair enough but the Irfu havenโt seemed too interested in bringing lads back yet. Of the last few high profile jobs in the country Iโd love to have seen how many of the Irish lads I mentioned were spoken to by the IRFU. Conor o Shea is another guy who would have been a huge addition.
@Jim Demps: Well I think they have had their chance a few times with OโShea, he took up a job with the RFU now so thatโs him lost for a few more years. Iโd really like to see him in the IRFU Management side of things rather than coaching, he does a good job on the field but I think heโs strategically better than most people think and his role with the Olympic Team GB prior to London shouldnโt be overlooked either. Is there an Australian out of contract in two years which Conor might be good at???
@ThatLJD: I think thatโs be the ideal situation, having o shea in for nucifora. Conor has shown time and time again that heโs one of the best rugby administrators out there and itโd be great to have him running the show.
@Eddie Hekenui: yep. Rog gaining massive experience
@Jim Demps: I heard from a source? Yeah right
@Chris Tobin: fellas get too excited on here when they see me comment. Donโt even have to say anything anymore to trigger lads
@Chris Tobin: yeah, Iโd also question the insistsnce that players became depressed by tactics. It should have told the commenter all they needed to know about their source.
@Eddie Hekenui: married, mortgage and 2 young kids. Thatโs about as tied down as you can get.
@Joe OโDoherty: Not really. Much harder to move when kids are older and youโre thinking about schools etc. You never hear coaches talk about mortgages etc when it comes to jobs but you hear them talking about their kids all the time.
Delighted for Felix. Contributed so much to Munster. He will be the first Irish man to win a rugby World Cup medal. Will it be gold or silver?
@Ivan OโRiordan: Kyran Bracken in 2003
@Eoin Jaypee: Wouldnโt be calling Bracken an Irishman. Lived his whole life in England.
@Eoin Jaypee: A couple of other candidates
Stephen Moore โ Silver in 2015 โ has strong Irish connections
Two Irish parents. Lived in Tuam for 5 years. Not born in Australia (not here either though).
John Gallagher from the 87 NZ team was similar and won the tournament. Born to two Irish parents in London before they emigrated to NZ, but I donโt think he ever lived in Ireland
@Chris Mansfield: Gallagher played for Ireland a back in the day too
@Chris Mansfield: Father from that great rugby stronghold โฆ.Limerick City!!
@Ardmore02: and yet the Duke of Wellington can be considered Irish too. Different countries have different rules.
All his famous attacking expertise was really on display last Sunday.
@KH: Obviously worked better than Schmidtโs !!
@KH: Not Jones gig as heโs not the attack coach.
@KH: so quick to throw in a negative comment that you forgot what his role is.
@KH: made a right fool of yourself there kid
@Timmy OโToole:
Dont worry @KH just look at the posters that are hitting at you .
@Martin Quinn:
He is a good guy, talked to him when he was up in Leinster and him and some other coaches dropped over to our club:: Down to earth and knew his stuff !!! Very happy for him as this could be a good thing to have on your CV.
As stolen from the internetโฆ.the moment you realise Matt Damon has won more world cups than Ireland.
Sad but true.
Good luck to Felix.
@Hirrison Mirk: you understand how movies work right?
@Dave O Keeffe: and France Scotland Wales and Argentina. Not just Ireland
@Dave O Keeffe: they act as a distraction from our World Cup campaign?
Absolutely delighted for Stephen Jones. I hope he gets a winnerโs medal in Japan. It is fantastic that we have so many young Irish coaches going overseas to gain experience outside of the Irish model and bodes well for the future. I would love to see a structure in place that got them spending some time working in school rugby.
@Mr. Common Sense: Stephen?
@Ivan OโRiordan:
Lad read the page for God sake
FELIX JONES
Every time you want to praise England your reminded of how much of a foul, smug, little odious man Eddie Jones is.
Was going to support England, as the Northern Hemisphere team, in Saturdayโs RWC final. But this bolt-from-the-blue revelation of a young Irishman, former International, being so closely involved behind the scenes with the Springboks has left one in a serious but very short-term dilemma.
Go Felix!
Honโ the Boks!
Great experience for him.
Well deserved, especially after the way he was treated at Munster. They could regret that.
@Tom McGirr: Explain to us how he was treated at Munster please?
Itโs such a shame that Felix had to retire from playing so young. He could easily be backup up to Bob until next RWC.