Manu wants to excel in the south

Regular game time is one of the aims of No.8 Nasi Manu as the Highlanders prepare for their Rebel Sport Super 14 opener against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.

Manu (21) was drafted from the Crusaders because of the plethora of quality loose forwards in the franchise and he will front up against his former team-mates if he is named in the Highlanders' 22.

"I'm really looking forward to the season; I just hope I'm in the 22 for Saturday,"
he said.

"It would be great to play against Kieran [Read] or Thomas [Waldrom]. There are some very good loosies in the Crusaders. They're good friends of mine and it will be good to catch up with them."

Manu has played 22 games for Canterbury and 17 for the Crusaders after a highly promising early career in which he represented New Zealand Schools, New Zealand Under-19 and New Zealand Colts.

"I just want to be a regular in the 22 and to play with self-belief and to my potential,"
he said.

"I was pretty happy with my form in the Air New Zealand Cup for Canterbury last year but I don't think I played my best in the Super 14.

"It was a bit frustrating in the Super 14 because I didn't get as many opportunities as I did the previous year."

Manu believes his biggest attributes are his workrate and his running with the ball, something at which he has become increasingly effective.

Manu, who was born in Lincoln, played as a blindside flanker in the Christchurch Boys' High School first XV and also played there for New Zealand Schools.

His uncle, Daniel Manu, was a former Wallaby loose forward - he still lives in Sydney - and he has been a major influence on his career.

His father, a Methodist minister, is the chaplain at Burnham Military Camp and the family moved around New Zealand during Manu's boyhood.

Manu has three younger brothers and an elder sister, Bessy, who has played netball for the Canterbury Flames and is now with the Central Pulse.

Manu is of Tongan extraction and last visited the Kingdom in 2000. He would like to return soon but, before then, he wants to make an impact with his new franchise.

He will go head to head with Steven Setephano for the Highlanders' No.8 jersey and the team for the opening match will be announced on Thursday.

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