All Blacks great Jeff Wilson reserved special praise for Wallace Sititi after being impressed by the number eight’s performance against the Wallabies.
After a stunning first Test campaign in 2024, which earned him the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, the Chiefs man has struggled to replicate that success.
Injury disrupted him in 2025 but, even when Sititi returned, he struggled to find the type of form which saw him light up the international arena the previous season.
Sititi criticised by his boss
It did not start much better for the talented loose forward in 2026 when Dave Rennie publicly admonished him after a poor individual display against Italy in the Nations Championship.
Since then the back-rower has edged himself back into contention and up the All Blacks pecking order, and he started their Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia.
For the 50-odd minutes he was on the field at Eden Park, Sititi was excellent and Wilson felt it was very much a return to form for the 24-year-old.
“I want to single one person out and Wallace Sititi for me was a guy who needed a big game at some point for the All Blacks in the jersey because he’s been slow to get going this year,” he said on The Breakdown.
“All of a sudden, I think this is a breakout performance. The fact that he was given the responsibility in the eight jersey and that responsibility is you have to get go-forward, you have to carry, you have to get your hands on the ball, you have to be impactful in the game.
“I thought this was one of his best games in the jersey because the All Blacks needed it and he brought it.
“We weren’t wrestling for metres there, we’re getting them with footwork, explosion, get down and the ball’s available. I loved what he did.”
All Blacks depth
Sititi was replaced by Anton Segner while Shannon Frizell also come onto the field as Rennie switched up his loose forward combination in the second period.
It demonstrated the All Blacks depth as they ended up claiming a 50-19 triumph to retain the Bledisloe Cup for another year.
Test centurion Mils Muliaina, like Wilson, was impressed by the performance of Sititi, stating that the number eight’s efforts allowed other players to thrive.
“There was no uncertainty in terms of his mindset going into the game and what he wanted to try and achieve. What that also sets up is the guys around him and Tupou Vaa’i got a little bit of space on the other side as well, so the loosies were working really nicely,” Muliaina said.
“And then we got some really good impact off the bench. It’s not bad when you can bring someone like Frizell onto the pitch, he just brought some power.”