David Havili is fired up to resume his midfield rivalry with Damian de Allende on Friday as the All Blacks centre closes in on a first appearance since recovering from a hamstring injury.
Havili was surprisingly named in New Zealand’s squad for the World Cup, despite not yet featuring for the All Blacks in 2023 owing to a hamstring injury suffered towards the end of Super Rugby.
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The 28-year-old Crusaders star has been sidelined for two months, but is back to full fitness and could make his first Test appearance of the year when the All Blacks take on the Springboks in their final World Cup warm-up at Twickenham on Friday.
“I’m right where I need to be, I’m just building nicely. It was a pretty slow start to getting the hammy back to where I wanted it,” said Havili.
“It’s 11 weeks now so I’m looking forward to putting that all behind me and getting back out on the park.”
With the Springboks expected to field a strong starting lineup, it could mean another clash between Havili and De Allende in midfield.
“He’s a great player, and has got a lot of physical attributes and plays the game in a way where the gain line is his goal and he does that a lot of the time,” said Havili of his South African rival.
“It’s been cool to have a few battles with him over the years and if I get the opportunity it will be another great one.”
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In Havili’s absence, the All Blacks have fielded fullback Jordie Barrett at inside centre and the positional switch has been a great success.
“Being able to see him execute his skill set like he does under pressure and that’s something I’ll be working closely with him, his little kicking short game, subtle touches he does and takes pressure off our 10s to make sure that they are controlling the game,” Havili explained.
It’s been awesome to get back around him and I’ll do that over the next couple of days as well.”
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