Taumalolo failed to tell Kidwell directly of his decision to flag playing for his birth nation and instead instructed “third parties” to relay the news to the Kiwi coach.

The Dally M player of the year isn’t alone with Sharks superstar Andrew Fifita defecting an hour before the first day of the Kangaroos’ World Cup campaign.

But at least Fifita had the decency to phone Mal Meninga, no matter the degree of late notice he gave.

“The issue I have is I would have liked Jason to tell me to my face (that he didn’t want to play for New Zealand),” Kidwell told the Courier Mail.

“I can understand why he wanted to play for Tonga and represent his heritage but I just wished he showed me some respect.

“I found out that he wanted to play for Tonga from a third party. He never told me — I still haven’t heard from him or spoken to him.

“I’m not going to have any ill-feeling towards Jason but if he explained things to me, I would have at least sat down and said, ‘OK, what are your reasons?’.

“I would never step in someone’s way of representing another country if that player doesn’t feel connected to the New Zealand jumper.

“I have 24 guys in this team now who feel they belong to the Kiwis and will play for the jumper. That’s the attitude I want.”

Taumalolo’s defection does not necessarily come without its consequences despite his standing as arguably the greatest forward in the game.

And while in the face of common sense a ban from New Zealand is unlikely, Kidwell provided no guarantees when quizzed on the lock’s Kiwi future.

“I would never step in someone’s way of representing another country if that player doesn’t feel connected to the New Zealand jumper.

“I have 24 guys in this team now who feel they belong to the Kiwis and will play for the jumper. That’s the attitude I want.”

“It won’t be up to me whether Jason plays for New Zealand again. It won’t be the selectors either.

“It will be players. I’m trying to shape our culture at the moment and they are the ones driving it.”