All Blacks midfielder Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has put the final nail in the coffin regarding speculation of a return to the NRL's Sydney Roosters.
Last week, All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan sparked the rumour mill, suggested the national team needed to give Tuivasa-Sheck more opportunities on the test stage or risk losing him back to the NRL club where he first shot to superstardom, claiming the Roosters had an offer ready and waiting for the former Dally M Medal winner.
The Otahuhu product began his NRL tenure with the Roosters in 2012, playing 84 games for the Syndeysiders, before signing on with NZ Warriors in 2016.
Kirwan's comments left some pundits across the ditch scratching their heads, considering the wealth of talent the Roosters currently have at fullback. Fox League's NRL 360 reported the Roosters had "distanced themselves" from the rumours.
Tuivasa-Sheck has put the rumours permanently to bed, confirming he has no intention of returning to the NRL and plans to honour his three-year deal with NZ Rugby.
"Hearing a return to NRL & Sydney Roosters. As much as I enjoyed it there, I won't be heading back," he wrote in an Instagram post. "Signed sealed and delivered until the end of 2023."
Tuivasa-Sheck has made just two brief appearances for the All Blacks off the bench this season, amid a midfield logjam, leaving his dream of winning a Rugby World Cup next year in peril.
"Little whisper is that there is a contract on the table for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck back at the Roosters," Kirwan told Sky Sport's The Breakdown.
"We're just running out of time, so I want to see Roger get a decent crack. The northern tour, he probably shouldn't play against Japan, but we need to see him against Scotland or Wales, where it's a big test match.
"What I've noticed is that our kicking game - our short-kicking game, our manipulative attacking game - has now gone to the foot of 12, so he's going to have to show us that on the northern tour as well, that kicking game. We know he can step.
"It's a timing issue, I mean I hope he doesn’t go back to the Roosters, I hope he stays for a few more years yet."
In a late positional adjustment, Tuivasa-Sheck made a surprise appearance on the wing for Auckland on Saturday, delivering one of his most impressive outings yet in his new code.
His display wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the national selectors, with the potential to transform Tuivasa-Sheck into a utility back, adding significant value to his All Blacks stocks.
With David Havili the All Blacks' preferred option in the No.12 jersey, the former Warriors captain now also appears to have been usurped in the pecking order by regular fullback Jordie Barrett, who had a breakthrough performance in the midfield in the second Bledisloe Cup test win over the Wallabies at Auckland.
While Quinn Tupaea's long-term absence with a knee injury reduces his competition, incumbent Anton Lienert-Brown is nearing full fitness and should be recalled to the squad for the year-end European tour, which will be announced on Thursday.
