ɐn ˈɪndʒɚɹi səstˈeɪnd dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti ˈeɪt sˈuːpɚ twˈɛlv ɹˈuːld hˌɪm ˌaʊɾəv ˈɔːl blˈæk sᵻlˈɛkʃən ðæt jˈɪɹ, bˌʌt hiː ɹᵻtˈɜːnd ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti nˈaɪn, ænd fɚðə fˈɜːst pˈɑːɹt ʌvðɪ ˌɪntɚnˈæʃənəl sˈiːzən, hiː wʌz jˈuːzd mˈeɪnli æt sˈɛntɚ bˌʌt fɚðə bˈʌlk ʌvðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti nˈaɪn ɹˈʌɡbi wˈɜːld kˈʌp lˈeɪɾɚɹ ɪnðə jˈɪɹ hiː wʌz bˈæk æt sˈɛkənd fˈaɪv.
An injury sustained during the 1998 Super 12 ruled him out of All Black selection that year, but he returned in 1999, and for the first part of the international season, he was used mainly at centre but for the bulk of the 1999 Rugby World Cup later in the year he was back at second five.