Getting the chance to coach a First Nations Pasifika side against the British & Irish Lions is an opportunity few get offered - and Wallaby veteran turned coach Sekope Kepu is relishing the chance to be part of an imposing coaching outfit.
Following the announcement of Toutai Kefu as head coach last week, the First Nations & Pasifika coaching staff will be rounded out by leaders from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and First Nations communities.
Watch every game of Super Rugby Pacific live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Joining Kefu and Kepu will be Moana Pasifika coach Tana Umaga, highly decorated former Fijian player and head coach Simon Raiwalui, and Wallaby great Glen Ella.
Kepu, who retired last year as a player, has transitioned into the coaching world as head coach of the Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks in Japan - and views the opportunity as critical for his transition as a coach.
"I'm new to this role and I'm new to coaching," Kepu admitted to reporters.
"The way I see it is I'm starting fresh and this opportunity is a massive one for me to learn off the great coaches... I'd love to get to sit down with all those coaches, I'm keen to learn off them as well."
While Kepu is new to the coaches box, with 110 Wallaby caps and 150 Super Rugby caps of playing experience, he'll be no stranger to the environment - and the focus on a clear identity for this new team is an experience he has a lot of parallels with when he was in the early set up at Moana Pasifika.
"I think our culture and heritage is massive, and our history that we have, we're deeply rooted in that," Kepu explained.
"I know a lot of guys still speak their mother tongue, they're still very attached to our cultural values. It's been awesome to see the First Nations before every Wallabies game - they honour the people of the land and it's nice to see that we respect that.
"Everybody has their own story, but can relate to each other in some sort of way with links to their heritage.
"There's no shortage of motivation there for guys to come together and as a team and represent not only the Indigenous people of Australia but also the people of the Pacific. If we can do that, that speeds up the whole process of trying to build and find common ground."
Kepu has kept in touch with Tana Umaga over the course of Moana Pasifika's breakthrough season, and believes that focus on identity, plus the injection of strong leaders like Ardie Savea has been a key reason why the side has performed so well.
"It's been unreal to watch their progress, obviously with Ardie coming in and everything that he's done in that space, it's just been a joy to watch," Kepu added.
"It was always going to be a challenge to get that project off the ground, and now that it's four years in now, it's just nice to see them start to bear some of that fruit, put pressure on teams and get wins over teams that they weren't expected to beat.
"It'll continue to grow and under Tana's management and the good coaches that he's got there… He's inspired a lot of those guys.
"Having him in there has just been special for the group, and I think the way he's led the team has been unbelievable. The boys, they see a leader and they follow him."
With the coaching staff now confirmed, a playing squad will come together in the coming weeks - and Kepu believes he can bring a lot of crucial perspectives to the new side, especially from his new skills picked up as a coach in Japan.
"One thing that I've picked up and learnt towards the back end of my career and being at Moana [was] especially understanding our people," Kepu added.
"I've been really fortunate where I transitioned straight from playing to coaching and doing something I'm passionate about.
'Learning what I learnt, everything I learnt along the way, but more so at Moana, it was a special three years of my career: learning a lot from there and marrying it up with everything I know.
"I'm still trying to digest the opportunity that I'm getting and let that soak in."
