Former NRL and Kiwis star Joey Manu makes his rugby union debut for Toyota.
Verblitz in Japan this weekend, prompting two burning questions - what position will he play and does he want to play for the All Blacks?
Martin Devlin spoke to the man who knows the answer to these questions, former All Blacks coach and current Toyota Verblitz mentor Ian Foster.
Manu's been busy in the off-season making music with some of his ex-Roosters teammates, but now it's time to get serious.
The 28 year-old will play in the backline somewhere, Foster wants to ease him in.
"We're looking to play him in the fullback/wing role to get him used to things" Foster told DSPN.
"But he's played almost all our pre-season games at centre."
Foster was guilty of putting another former rugby league star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in at second-five where he struggled to make an impact for the All Blacks.
"He (RTS) wasn't too far off but I know Joey's trying to cut his own path, learning well, and that's all we can ask."
So, does Manu want to play for the All Blacks or is he just happy playing in Japan where he remains ineligible for international selection?
"I read a couple of articles saying why the heck is going there (Japan), why isn't he going to New Zealand? I think it's a smart move because if he came here too early the microscope would be on everything he did."
"And sometimes as a country we can get judgemental pretty quickly on athletes. I think Joey's pretty level-headed, we'll let him make the decisions."
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