Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore has paid tribute to the retiring Tatafu Polota-Nau, believing their love-hate relationship got the best out of both long-serving hookers.
Polota-Nau will play his 90th and, probably, final Test when Australia host Samoa at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday.
The 34-year-old this week announced his international retirement although he is on standby for the World Cup and could be called in if injury strikes one of the less experienced trio preferred for the tournament in Japan.
If it is goodbye, Moore believes Australia is losing one of the world’s finest scrummagers in a No.2 jersey.
He is also convinced Polota-Nau played an influential part in his own 129-Test career.
Both debuted in 2005 and went on to replace each other in 62 Tests, forming one of Australia’s most potent 1-2 punches.
A close bond was forged off the field through their 13 seasons as Wallabies teammates but also as fierce Super Rugby rivals. That respectful enmity extended to training sessions.
“That’s a lot of scrummaging against each other,” Moore told AAP.
“I always found opposed sessions against ‘Taf’ on a Tuesday to be as tough as, if not tougher, than games.
“You drive each other hard for that position. It’s competitive and so it should be playing for your country. Certainly, under Michael Cheika (at the 2015 World Cup), he really encouraged that competition at training to sharpen the axe for games.”
Moore’s hard-nosed, combative approach complemented Polota-Nau’s explosiveness and physicality.
However, away from the field, Moore said he’d come across few more selfless individuals, always wanting to help less fortunate members of the community.
Moore said it would have been a tough World Cup call for Cheika to omit Polota-Nau, who still has a year to run on his three-season contract with English club Leicester.
However, he can understand why the coach may have favoured tournament rookies Tolu Latu, Folau Fainga’a and Jordan Uelese, who have played just 29 Tests between them.
“When Taf went to Leicester he probably knew he was taking himself a little bit out of the frame,” Moore said.
“Someone like Tolu Latu, while he’s had his ups and downs this year, certainly towards the back end of the Rugby Championship he showed he belongs at that level.
“They all know if anything happens, they’ve certainly got a quality person waiting in the wings.”