All Blacks coach Steve Hansen had put the rugby world on notice about Vaea Fifita ahead of yesterday's Rugby Championship victory over Argentina but despite a man-of-the-match performance said he still expected more from the flanker.
"We said he's a good athlete and we saw that," said Hansen, who beforehand had declared Fifita the most gifted natural athlete he had coached.
"I don't think that he's the finished product. There's a long way to go before that. But there's a tank with plenty in it and it's our job to bring that out and his job to work on his game and get better and reach his potential."Before the match at Taranaki Regional Stadium, Hansen had suggested Fifita could put "the fear of god" into Argentina in his first start for New Zealand.
He compared his physicality to that of former All Blacks hard men Jerry Collins, Chris Masoe and Rodney So'oialo and said he was impressed most of all with Fifita's pace.
Fifita demonstrated that speed when he outsprinted several Los Pumas backs to score a sensational try with the All Blacks down to 14 men to rally the world champions to a 39-22 victory.
The 25-year-old also proved very difficult to defend as he accumulated 113 running metres, beat 11 defenders and made three clean breaks as he terrorised the Pumas...