"It's every competitor's dream" - Tuivasa-Sheck ahead of his test debut

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is set to make his test debut off the bench against Ireland on Saturday in the series decider.

The former NRL star made 111 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors, 84 for the Sydney Roosters and 20 Test appearances for the Kiwis before making the code switch to union late last year.

Should he come off the bench, he achieve his childhood dream of becoming an All Black having been inspired by former sevens legend Eric Rush, who coached Tuivasa-Sheck as a schoolboy in South Auckland.

"One of my coaches was Eric Rush, who was a legend in the rugby space. He had a barbecue at his house. He lived in Manukau Heights, and I lived in Otara. To go to his place, you had to drive up the hill, and we got to his house - he had a really nice house." Tuivasa-Sheck told allblacks.com

"It was a lot bigger, and a lot cooler, than the house I was living in in Otara, and I just said, 'If this is what it takes, this is what I want for my family, the house that he lives in'. And I've done my best to chase the dream ever since," he said.

Tuivasa-Sheck said Rush, Tuivasa-Sheck's father and the Rush uncles, had been tough coaching all of them.

"They would continue to drill, and drill, into us and make sure we were always putting our best foot forward. Rushie would always tell us he wasn't the most talented kid out there, but he worked and worked his butt off and got to places he never dreamed of.

"That's what stuck with me," he said.

Tuivasa-Sheck said moments like Saturday were a dream that had to be cherished. Any competitor wanted to play on the big stages, because there was no better place to prove themselves.

"For me to be in this stage, it's every competitor's dream," he said.