All Blacks squad: Winners and losers as ‘experienced campaigner’ rewarded while Scott Robertson opts for ‘surprising’ call
All Blacks scrum-half Finlay Christie and head coach Scott Robertson (inset).
Following the announcement of All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson’s 36-man squad for their upcoming eagerly anticipated Grand Slam tour, we select our winners and losers.
The All Blacks get their tour underway against Ireland at Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago on November 1 before they head to the United Kingdom where they will face Scotland at Murrayfield one week later.
Following that Test, the men in black take on England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on November 15 before they conclude their campaign against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff seven days later.
So without further ado, here are our winners and losers from Robertson’s All Blacks squad.
Winners
George Bell
The 23-year-old, who made two Test appearances for the All Blacks in 2024, is the only new face in Robertson’s squad following the recent Rugby Championship campaign and comes in as a direct replacement for Brodie McAlister.
A former New Zealand U20 hooker, Bell caught the eye with some impressive performances for the Crusaders last year which earned him an All Blacks call-up and he made a try-scoring debut against Fiji in San Diego last year.
However, he missed the Crusaders’ entire 2025 Super Rugby Pacific campaign due to a fracture in his foot but has impressed during Canterbury’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) campaign which has earned him his All Blacks recall.
Tevita Mafileo
The front-row is an experienced campaigner, who has made more than 50 appearances for the Hurricanes at Super Rugby level. He is another player who, like Bell, has come to the fore with several excellent NPC performances, for Bay of Plenty, in 2025.
Mafileo’s selection is a momentous one for the 27-year-old as it his first official call-up, although he has been around the All Blacks squad during the Rugby Championship as injury cover.
However with Tyrel Lomax and Ollie Norris both ruled out through injury, he gets his chance and will be determined to make his Test debut.
Josh Lord
The 2.02-metre tall second-row has been in and out of All Blacks squads since making his Test debut in 2021 and can consider himself lucky to be named in Robertson’s group for this tour as it was unlikely that he would have been called up if Tupou Vaa’i had been fit.
Despite his large frame and a valuable source of lineout possession, his lack of physicality is one of his biggest weaknesses which means he is behind captain Scott Barrett, Fabian Holland and Patrick Tuipulotu in the pecking order for Test selection.
That means he is unlikely to be called up to the matchday squads until the All Blacks’ final Test against Wales on November 22 and, if that happens, he will in all likelihood have to be satisfied with a spot on the replacements bench.
Finlay Christie
The Blues and Auckland stalwart came off the bench as a replacement for the great Aaron Smith in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final but is well and truly behind Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima in the All Blacks’ current scrum-half pecking order.
However, with Roigard, Ratima and Noah Hotham all injured at various stages during the Rugby Championship, Christie, who is an experienced campaigner, earned a start during the All Blacks’ eagerly anticipated Test against the Springboks at Eden Park and he caught the eye in that Test with that outstanding all-round display which helped his side to victory.
With Hotham sidelined again through injury, it was a straight shootout between Christie, Kyle Preston, Xavier Roe and Folau Fakatava for third scrum-half berth. Christie’s excellent Eden Park performance must have played a huge part in giving him the edge when Robertson made his decision.
All Blacks: Scott Robertson shows his hand as he opts for continuity in squad for Grand Slam tour
Scott Robertson
Although he will be unhappy that New Zealand finished second in the Rugby Championship behind South Africa, Robertson will be encouraged that his troops notched as many wins as the world champions and finished on the same number of points as their arch rivals in that competition.
That shows in his selection of his squad for this Grand Slam tour as there were little surprises with all of his players, with the exception of Bell, being part of the group during the Rugby Championship.
While it’s a conservative call, which was surprising, such continuity in selection augurs well ahead of those upcoming Tests in USA and the UK, with confidence high ahead of the opening Test against Ireland.
Losers
Injured quartet
Although Robertson will be happy with the squad which he selected, he will bemoaning the fact that he will be without the services of the injured quartet of Lomax, Vaa’i, Emoni Narawa and Hotham.
Lomax is one of the world’s best tighthead props and his presence will be missed in the scrums where he seldom takes a backward step. He is sidelined with a broken thumb which he re-injured in the All Blacks’ last Test against Australia in Perth.
Meanwhile, Vaa’i, who has shone at lock and on the blindside flank for New Zealand in 2025, is sidelined with a knee injury and speedster Narawa’s season is also over after suffering a lung puncture in the Eden Park win over the Springboks.
It’s a similar story for Hotham after he broke his leg in the defeat to the Boks in Wellington.
Asafo Aumua
When on song, Aumua is one of the most explosive runners with ball in hand but those occurrences have been few and far between recently as his career has been hampered by numerous injury and concussion setbacks in 2025.
The 28-year-old only made eight appearances for the Hurricanes at Super Rugby Pacific level and a torn hamstring, sustained at training ahead of their quarter-final with the Brumbies in June, ruled him out of the All Blacks’ Test series against France. His lack of game-time then also ruled him out of their Rugby Championship campaign.
Aumua was last in action for Wellington against Auckland in the NPC on August 31 and is currently still working through concussion protocols. There is no clarity on when he will be back in action.
Brodie McAlister
The 28-year-old has lost his place in the All Blacks squad to Bell as the third choice hooker, behind Codie Taylor and Samisoni Taukei’aho after making his Test debut in the Rugby Championship defeat to the Springboks in Wellington.
McAlister came on as a replacement in that game with South Africa holding a 17-10 lead with 25 minutes left, but the Boks put tremendous pressure on him at the lineouts and he crumbled spectacularly.
One of his throws at the set-piece right on his try-line was won by the Boks and resulted in them crossing for a try. Since then, McAlister has not made the All Blacks’ matchday 23 for the Tests against the Wallabies and he has now also been omitted from the latest squad which does not bode well for his Test future.
Christian Lio-Willie
It seems like a long time ago now that Lio-Willie was called up to the All Blacks squad (after initially being part of the group as injury cover) as a replacement for Wallace Sititi and making his Test debut against France in Dunedin.
The number eight delivered a solid performance and retained his position for the second Test in Wellington before being dropped ahead of the third clash in Hamilton.
He did not feature in any of New Zealand’s Rugby Championship Tests but has impressed at NPC level where he has helped Otago to reach that competition’s semi-finals. However, with a plethora of All Blacks loose forward options available, Lio-Willie misses out this time.
Sam Darry
Like Bell, Darry made his All Blacks debut in San Diego last year and the Blues and Canterbury lock gave a good account of himself as the season progressed, scoring a well-taken try against Argentina in the Rugby Championship in Wellington.
The 25-year-old has continued to grow at Test level, making six appearances for the All Blacks, but a shoulder injury kept him on the sidelines for the entire 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
He eventually made his return to action with Canterbury and was at the forefront of the Christchurch-based outfit’s charge to the NPC semi-finals. However, with just four second-row positions available and with Lord getting the nod, Darry misses out although he will be working hard to make his All Blacks return in 2026.