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Frank Halai - Source: Fairfax
Frank Halai has become an overnight enigma to many after lighting up the Wellington Sevens with a performance spookily reminiscent of another famous Tongan-born New Zealand wing.
Not since the days of Jonah Lomu has a player run over, round and through so many players with such regularity as Halai did over the two days of the Hertz Sevens.
It left everyone, including his coach Gordon Tietjens and teammate Hosea Gear, wondering why the 23-year-old wing has not advanced further in the game than the fringes of Waikato's ITM Cup squad.
"I've been watching Franky for the last couple of years and I'm surprised he's not in that [Super Rugby] set up yet," Gear said after watching Halai storm over for two decisive tries in the 24-7 final win against Fiji. "After tonight I think he showed everyone how capable he is of stepping up and after training with him I'm confident he will be there one day soon."
Tietjens enthused: "I'm really staggered I still have him. He did the same for me last year to win a World Series, he's a really good footballer.
"He's about 110kg and ran a 14 in a beep test, which is tremendous for a young Tongan boy at 23...
"It's his ability to just beat players one-on-one. He has a great fend and he's really quick."
At 1.95m and 105kg, and from the same Wesley College background as Lomu, the inevitable comparisons are being made, but in truth they are not new.
Halai was the subject of a TVNZ Close Up report back in 2007 when he was posting 11s 100m times and has been quietly achieving milestones ever since.
He quietly starred for the New Zealand sevens team last season, his first, with 35 tries on the run to the overall title.
But Tietjens' mention of a level 14 score in the beep test may explain why Halai has suddenly jumped to even higher levels with his Waikato player profile listing his best effort at a lowly level 10.
It may also be that the pressure of being "The next Jonah" was an unhelpful tag.
But Tietjens has a remarkable knack of getting the very best out of players and appears to have taken Halai to new heights this season.
He is the leading try scorer on the current IRB World Series with 24 from just four tournaments and suddenly the strike weapon in the New Zealand side.
His emergence comes a year after Declan O'Donnell lit up Westpac Stadium, a performance that has seen him graduate to the Chiefs Super Rugby squad this year.
There seems little doubt Halai will follow a similar path provided he can remain fit and fix up rumoured defensive weaknesses that have hung over his efforts in fifteens.
Whatever the case, he is a rare talent in athleticism and skill on the evidence of the past few days.
A less bright, but equally as promising light was that of play maker Mark Jackman, who played every minute of his first IRB tournament after Toby Arnold's serious knee injury just 15 seconds into New Zealand's first match.
Throw in young midfielder Charles Piutau and Tietjens' factory is ticking along as efficiently as ever.
New Zealand's win, their sixth Wellington title, means they will head to Las Vegas today as the outright series leaders, three points clear of Fiji.
