All Blacks: Key trio forced to sit out NPC final due to international duty

None of the current All Blacks will be in action in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) final between the Crusaders and Otago in Christchurch on Saturday.

Three players in All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson’s squad will be affected by that ruling with Otago head coach Mark Brown confirming to The Post that experienced prop George Bower will not be in action in the eagerly anticipated title decider, while Canterbury boss Marty Bourke revealed on Tuesday that his stalwarts Sam Darry (lock) and George Bell (hooker) are also unavailable.

Bower, Darry and Bell will head into camp with the All Blacks on Wednesday before Robertson’s 36-member squad fly out to Chicago for their Test against Ireland on November 1.

That will be the All Blacks’ first Test of their Grand Slam campaign and they will then head to the United Kingdom to take on Scotland at Murrayfield on November 8, England at Twickenham on November 15, and Wales at the Principality Stadium on November 22.

New Zealand’s first all-South Island NPC final in 24 years

Canterbury and Otago are set to contest New Zealand’s first all-South Island NPC final in 24 years and Darry and Bell, who helped Canterbury to clinch a 43-19 semi-final victory over Hawke’s Bay, were both keen to play in the final according to Burke but after talks on Tuesday, they understood that their All Blacks commitments were more important.

“We kind of knew it was more of a no than yes. You don’t have to be Einstein to realise they’ve got a few dings (in the All Blacks squad) and trying to get that Grand Slam is pretty important,” he told The Press.

Bourke added that the All Blacks’ second-row “depth is going to be tested” with Patrick Tuipulotu and Tupou Vaa’i out of the tour due to injuries which resulted in them “needing Sam Darry out of the All Blacks XV.”

“You kind of throw out a few solutions that they could work towards, but at the end of the day, it’s the best guys for the job, and Darry and Belly are those guys,” he added.

“It’s always been the black jersey comes first. We had really good open dialogue with the All Blacks coaches given both those guys have been part of this group for the whole season, but it’s all about elevating our players, and we back the stock we’ve got around our wider group.

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“We’re really excited for them (as All Blacks), but also really excited for a couple of boys who get an opportunity to play in a final.”

Darry and Bell’s eagerness to play in the NPC final stems from their Otago roots. Bell hails from East Otago and his older brother, Henry, who is also a hooker, has represented Otago while Darry’s father made two appearances for the province in 1993.

Bourke said both players had played “a massive part, both on and off the field” during Canterbury’s 2025 NPC campaign.

‘They genuinely wanted to be here’

“You have to first close the loop with them, did they truly want to be here when you’ve got that All Black carrot dangling for you? But they genuinely wanted to be here,” he said.

“It’s the the power of the black jersey, which every child aspires to… That always comes first and trumps everything. Especially in Chicago.”

Darry and Bell both made their Test debuts in 2024 with the former making six appearances and the latter three, although neither have represented the All Blacks in 2025.

Meanwhile, Otago stalwart Bower has won 24 All Blacks caps and the 33-year-old scored his first ever try as a professional rugby player in the men in black’s 28-14 triumph over the Wallabies in their second Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth earlier this month.

Meanwhile, five players who have been called up to the All Blacks XV squad for their tour to Europe will be available for NPC final selection.

For Otago, number eight Christian Lio-Willie, who made his All Blacks debut against France earlier this year, is set to be in action in the final, while Canterbury can pick Brodie McAlister (hooker), centres Dallas McLeod and Braydon Ennor and outside back Chay Fihaki.

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