New All Blacks loose forward Jordan Taufua was shocked to earn a call-up to the national side for the upcoming test series against France.
Taufua is one of three new faces named in Steve Hansen's 33-man squad, alongside fellow flanker Shannon Frizell and halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.
The 26-year-old has been in blockbusting form with the Crusaders, filling in at No.8 in the absence of Kieran Read, as he continues to recover from a back injury.
He will compete against Frizell and Luke Whitelock for the All Blacks No.8 role.
Taufua was getting ready to celebrate the Crusaders' 32-24 win over the Blues when he got the call.
"I got the phone call from the manager last night," Taufua said. "My Crusaders manager gave me the phone and I said, 'who's that?'
"That was my first reaction at the time when he told me I made the team - it was pretty special. I was pretty speechless and still now it's a bit overwhelming, but exciting at the same time.
"This is just a foot in the door. Now it's getting on the field, showing what I can do, and going out there and representing my country.
"The work starts now."
Hansen saw this as an excellent opportunity for Taufua and Frizell to both experience life in the All Blacks camp.
"Both Jordan and Shannon are what we'd call assertive players, who have got plenty of energy and plenty of intention with that energy. They have got a skillset we like.
"Are they the finished product? We don't know, but we won't know until we work with them and we won't know, but we're happy to work with them."
Crusaders coach Scott Robinson, himself a former All Blacks loose forward, was exceptionally proud of his young player getting to opportunity to represent New Zealand.
"He has been very consistent or a long time now and he has a great capacity to play well in big games," he said. "I'm very proud of him for all the hard work he's done.
"All he can control now is when he gets onto the field, so with that three-test series, maybe he gets some time to get that 'beast mode' going."
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