All Blacks squad winners and losers as Scott Robertson makes ‘tight’ captaincy call and a ‘disgraceful’ decision up front

Following the announcement of Scott Robertson’s All Blacks squad to take on England and Fiji on New Zealand soil, here are our winners and losers.

A 32-man group has been selected by the new head coach ahead of his first Tests in charge of the national team next month.

Robertson is looking to rebuild after the loss of several legendary players and he has made some interesting decisions looking towards their July matches.

Winners

New captain named

After much debate, the captaincy has been decided. Scott Barrett follows the greats before him to be named the latest All Blacks skipper, taking over from Sam Cane. Ultimately, in a tight call between the lock and Ardie Savea, it was Barrett’s Crusaders connection which gave him the edge over the back-rower.

Both are world-class players and inspirational leaders in their own right, so it was otherwise a 50-50 call, but it is not a surprise that Robertson has opted for what he knows. The second-row, despite the odd disciplinary issue, has become one of the best back five forwards in the game and will lead with distinction.

Uncapped five

Congratulations to George Bell, Pasilio Tosi, Cortez Ratima, Billy Proctor and Wallace Sititi, who have been selected in an All Blacks squad for the first time after impressive seasons in Super Rugby Pacific.

Tosi is arguably the main bolter having alternated between a starting and bench role for the Hurricanes, but Robertson evidently sees something special in the tighthead prop, who transitioned from number eight to the front-row a few years ago.

Elsewhere up front, hooker Bell is rewarded for his superb performances in a struggling Crusaders side, while at the opposite end of the pack – and Super Rugby table – number eight Sititi also gets in. Son of Samoan legend Semo, the 21-year-old is an exciting talent and could well get the nod at the base of the scrum should Ardie Savea be shifted to openside.

Behind the scrum, Ratima has shone alongside Sititi at the Chiefs, with the duo forming an excellent eight-nine combination, and duly gets a shot in the 32. The half-back probably has the best chance of the uncapped quintet to play a big role next month given New Zealand’s lack of depth in that position.

Proctor could also come into the reckoning after excelling for the Hurricanes in 2024 but, let’s be honest, Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane are the favoured centre pair, with Anton Lienert-Brown a reliable back-up at either 12 or 13.

Asafo Aumua

After much promise during his career, 2024 could be the year the explosive hooker finally reaches his potential. Aumua is one of the best age-grade players we’ve ever seen when he produced several barnstorming displays during the 2017 World Rugby U20 Championship, but it has taken time for him to mature in senior rugby.

With Samisoni Taukei’aho out injured, Dane Coles retired and Codie Taylor entering the latter stages of his Test career, now is the time for Aumua to grasp his opportunity. His work ethic has improved while the nuts and bolts of his game are much better, so let’s hope he can translate that form at Test level.

TJ Perenara

After sadly missing the Rugby World Cup through a nasty injury sustained in November 2022, the scrum-half worked remarkably hard to get back fit and he has been rewarded with a deserved recall. As mentioned already, the All Blacks are struggling for depth at scrum-half, but make no mistake, this is very much a form-based decision.

Since returning to action in March, Perenara has been exceptional for the Hurricanes as they finished at the summit of the Super Rugby table. He remains an elite scrum-half and it wouldn’t be a surprise should he start for New Zealand against England in July.

Scott Robertson and his trusted Crusaders

While it was special for the players who were selected, it would have been an equally magical moment for the new All Blacks head coach. After missing out to Ian Foster following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Robertson finally gets his chance in the hotseat and duly named his first squad on Monday.

There were a few interesting calls while some were concerned Robertson would lean too heavily on the Crusaders, despite their terrible season. However, it is an ultimately well balanced squad with only a couple of picks potentially being influenced by the All Blacks boss’ background.

One of those is certainly in the back-row where Ethan Blackadder gets in. The loose forward is an incredible player, so his selection is not unjustified, but other people may have opted against picking the back-rower considering his injury record. However, Robertson quite rightly trusts Blackadder, who played several games at the end of the Super Rugby campaign.

Sir John Kirwan: ‘What more does Hoskins Sotutu need to do to get an All Blacks call?’

Losers

Hoskins Sotutu

“Disgraceful” and “embarrassing” are already words which have greeted the number eight’s omission on social media from All Blacks supporters, who have been shocked by the news of his absence, and he can quite rightly be annoyed.

It’s obviously not the Blues star’s skill set with ball in hand or his incredible physical prowess, but there are perhaps still doubts about his work ethic at close quarters. While Sotutu makes big carries and can off-load, you simply need to do more to be a success at Test level, and the nitty-gritty around the contact area is possibly letting him down at the moment.

Jason Ryan’s influence may also be telling here, too. Sotutu was initially involved after Ryan took charge of the forwards midway through 2022, but he was not in the mix throughout 2023 and will now miss the beginning of the 2024 Test season.

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Injured players

Inevitably, a few will miss out through injury but, in this squad update, Sam Cane, Will Jordan, Taukei’aho and Cam Roigard were singled as being on the sidelines, which suggests that they would have been involved had they been fit.

That is particularly interesting in the case of Cane, who announced that 2024 would be his last Test season after signing a long-term deal in Japan from 2025. For many, the former captain would not be involved at all, but it implies that experienced flanker is still in Robertson’s thoughts.

As for the other players, it is such a shame to see Jordan continue to struggle with injury, while Roigard was a real breakout star in 2023 and would have been in contention to start at scrum-half this year. Hopefully they will all get their chances in an All Blacks jersey later in the year.

Ardie Savea

It has to be said, it’s very much a ‘loser’ with a small ‘l’ given that Savea is still a crucial part of the All Blacks set-up. No doubt the star number eight would have wanted the captaincy, but ultimately it doesn’t lessen his importance to the squad.

Savea remains the best in the world in his position and has also been handed the role of vice captain to Scott Barrett. However, it would have been a great honour and privilege to have been handed the captaincy responsibility, but this time it wasn’t to be.

Hurricanes stars overlooked

The men from Wellington can perhaps feel the most hard done by as the 50/50 calls generally went against their players. Tosi is the exception, with the tighthead a surprise pick, but the likes of Peter Lakai, Xavier Numia, Brayden Iose, Brett Cameron and Ruben Love were very much putting their hands up. Even Isaia Walker-Leawere is slightly unfortunate considering the All Blacks’ issues at lock.

The Hurricanes were magnificent in 2024, topping the Super Rugby Pacific following a series of fine displays. Despite missing out on the final with a defeat to the Chiefs in the last-four, their performances probably deserved more recognition. The only caveat is that those aforementioned individuals are young and still have plenty of time to force their way in.

Shaun Stevenson

It almost feels inevitable at this point that the Chiefs’ star full-back is going to head abroad and earn a boatload of cash. Foster was clearly never a fan and Robertson has followed suit in not picking the flyer.

The back three is always very competitive but Stevenson never seems to be rewarded for his fine form. Granted, he has hasn’t been quite as exceptional as last year but, for consistency in performance, it is a shame that he has once again been overlooked.

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