Warriors coach quizzed on early Roger Tuivasa-Sheck arrival after All Blacks snubbing
The Warriors are not pursuing an early arrival of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, despite being snubbed by the All Blacks for the Rugby Championship.
RTS has been MIA since suffering a hand injury in Super Rugby Pacific this year.
Although having recovered from it, Tuivasa-Sheck did not feature for the Blues in the final rounds and playoffs of this year's competition.
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On Sunday, All Blacks coach Ian Foster did not name the Warriors-bound player in the 36-man squad for the upcoming four-match Rugby Championship.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck trained with the Blues before being knocked out in the semi-finals. Fiona Goodall via Getty Images
If his Rugby World Cup hopes weren't already dashed, then they're almost certainly dead in the water.
Nevertheless, RTS is said to be planning a return to rugby via the National Provincial Championship, which begins in August and continues through to October.
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The cross-code star had always maintained he would see out his contract with New Zealand Rugby, and it would seem the Warriors are content with that too.
"Honestly, I have not mentioned that to anyone that Roger will be coming," said Warriors coach Andrew Webster.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Johnson (pictured in 2021) are set to reunite at the Warriors. Getty
"No one's even mentioned that to me. Barring people in the public and media, I haven't heard it from anywhere internally. We certainly have not spoken to Roger about that."
The Dally M Medallist is scheduled to reunite with the Warriors in 2024.
Exactly where RTS will fit into the mix at the NRL club remains to be seen.
Before departing, he was a star fullback. In his absence, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has been a standout.
Tuivasa-Sheck did play on the wing when he started out at the Sydney Roosters but established himself as a world class fullback before joining the Warriors.
In any case, he'll have to readjust from union to league lifestyle.
"Roger's always fit," said Webster.
"I think he's fit in everything he does. Positionally, for rugby union, he's made some adjustments to his body. But knowing Roger, he's made that adjustment very fast.
"I haven't looked at his skinfolds or his bodyweight. He looks very solid and fit to me at the moment.
"I don't know how they'd relate. I'm thinking about Roger for next year, not Roger for now.
"I just want Roger to be happy for the rest of the year. So long as he's happy, I'm happy."
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