Blues CEO backs Tuivasa-Sheck's return to Warriors

By Steven Holloway

Blues CEO Andrew Hore only found out yesterday that star midfielder Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was leaving his club, but said the move was right for both parties.

The Warriors confirmed last night that the cross-code star would rejoin their ranks in 2024, signing a three-year deal and making the current Super Rugby campaign his last with the Blues.

Hore said there had been ongoing discussions about Tuivasa-Sheck’s next move “for a while”, with a number of different options on the table.

“We found out earlier today [Thursday] and decided that things don’t generally stay secret for too long in the NRL world so decided to get the news out,” Hore told D’Arcy Waldegrave on Newstalk ZB.

“We’ve been talking to Roger for a while, knowing he has some decisions to make around this. He’s been fantastic at the club, but this is the best thing for him, the best thing for us, so we’re delighted for him. We think it’s a good move for him.

“With any negotiation these days you’ve got Japan, you’ve got league, you’ve got Europe, you’ve got all the franchises. In Roger’s case he’s such a talented individual, and such a good man, he’s going to be very highly sought after and we understood that.”

Blues coach Leon MacDonald said Tuivasa-Sheck had played an important role for his Super Rugby side, so far making 15 appearances and starting at second five-eighth throughout last year’s run to the final. But his switch to rugby had also come with some teething issues.

“He missed basically six months of rugby from the get-go with Covid and whatnot, and its been uphill from there really,” said Hore.

“He just needs a clear run and I think he deserves that. We’ve got seven games left in the regular season, it gives him an opportunity to push forward and try and go to a World Cup.

“Staying in Auckland was really important to him. He said publicly that getting used to some of the intricacies of rugby took some getting used to – and when he said that in an interview it did make me think about where his mindset was at.”

Warriors CEO Cameron George said the club hadn’t been chasing Tuivasa-Sheck, but was delighted to have him back.

Tuivasa-Sheck made his NRL debut with the Sydney Roosters in 2012, playing 84 games for the club and winning a premiership in 2013.

He moved to Mt Smart in 2016 and racked up 111 appearances across six seasons with the Warriors, before leaving the club’s temporary Australian base in 2021 to make his first foray into rugby with the Auckland NPC side.

“Its exciting news for our fans,” said George.

“The opportunity arose this year and we reached out to check on him and we’ve had a lot of conversations over the last few years as we’re mates, but there was a chance for us to talk about him professionally coming back and we just continued those discussions to put a plan in place.

“We’re looking forward to him completing his duties with rugby and trying to do the best he can. We’ve all been patient about it. We haven’t been out there chasing Roger for the last two years, he went out on a journey and we supported him on that.”