All Blacks squad: Winners and losers including Scott Robertson’s ‘mindboggling’ omission as ‘area of real concern’ evident
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and an inset of scrum-half Cameron Roigard.
Following the announcement of Scott Robertson’s All Blacks squad for the Rugby Championship, we pick our winners and losers.
The head coach is contending with a plethora of injury concerns, but at the same time has received several timely boosts ahead of the trip to Argentina for back-to-back clashes against Los Pumas.
We unpack the squad and pick out our winners and losers.
Winners
Wallace Sititi
The 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year missed all three Tests against France in July, and while his absence allowed the likes of Christian Lio-Willie and Du’Plessis Kirifi the opportunity to make their debuts, the All Blacks will welcome the Chiefs star back with open arms.
Sititi missed much of Super Rugby through injury but hit the ground sprinting upon his return and was in stunning form. Robertson and his coaching team will be eager for him to do the same, particularly with the threats Argentina have in the loose trio.
The 22-year-old laid down a marker in Test rugby last year and has quickly become a key cog in the All Blacks’ loose trio. The opening two rounds against Argentina provides the opportunity for him to get some crucial minutes under the belt ahead of the back-to-back home Tests against the Springboks.
Simon Parker and three uncapped injury covers
Robertson has added some serious poundage to his back-row options with Chiefs’ 197cm tall and 119kg loose forward Simon Parker included in the squad after a sterling Super Rugby campaign.
He comes into the group in place of Lio-Willie, who is a surprise omission considering the fact that he featured in all three Test squads against France. Like his clubmate Sititi, he offers versatility with his ability to play at the back and on the side of the scrum.
While he is the only uncapped player in the Rugby Championship squad, three further newbies have been called up as training cover and could potentially make their debuts against Los Pumas.
Hurricanes prop Tevita Mafileo has been called up as cover for Tyrel Lomax, while Crusaders scrum-half Kyle Preston is an option at scrum-half with Cam Roigard and Noah Hotham carrying injuries. Outside back Leroy Carter also provides cover for Caleb Clarke.
It is not the first time that Mafileo has been called into the All Blacks squad, having previously trained with the team in 2023 without debuting, but he could well earn his first cap as Lomax won’t be travelling with the team to Argentina.
Meanwhile, Crusaders breakout star Preston could well claim one of the scrum-half roles against Los Pumas as Roigard and Hotham remain in New Zealand. The 25-year-old shot to stardom in round one of Super Rugby Pacific this year, scoring a hat-trick on his debut. He continued to impress throughout the season and now gets his shot to do the same in the famous black jersey.
Finally, Carter earns a call-up, albeit covering for the sidelined Clarke, but is fully deserving of his shot after the former New Zealand sevens star’s fantastic season with the Chiefs. He scored 10 times for the Waikato-based outfit in 16 appearances.
Finlay Christie
Injury creates opportunity, and this opportunity comes at what is reportedly a pivotal time for 23-Test cap scrum-half Finlay Christie.
It is reported that Newcastle Falcons are eager to sign the 29-year-old number nine after energy drink giants Red Bull purchased the Premiership outfit. A move to England would make Christie ineligible for the All Blacks but could open the door for him to switch international allegiances to Scotland.
He last played for Robertson’s side against England last July, meaning that if he wanted to represent Scotland in the future, playing for the All Blacks during the Rugby Championship would reset the three-year stand-down period in order to execute the birthright transfer. This would make a switch to Scotland before the next World Cup all the more tricky, though.
What a recall does do for Christie is it gives him a clear indication of where he is in Robertson’s pecking order and could decide whether he stays and fights to move up the list or heads abroad and chases a new adventure.
Peter Lakai
While the All Blacks’ injury list is quite extensive, Robertson will be beaming that he has Hurricanes star Peter Lakai back at his disposal.
The 22-year-old impressed during his debut international season last year, and while he wasn’t quite as blockbuster as Sititi, he certainly showed his potential and slots right back into the squad, having recovered from his setback that saw him miss the France series.
His and Sititi’s return allows Robertson to continue to tinker with his loose trio having started Ardie Savea on the side of the scrum against Les Bleus.
July debutants
Lio-Willie is the only one of the six players who debuted against France in July who has failed to retain his position in the squad, as Brodie McAlister, Ollie Norris, Fabian Holland, Kirifi, and Timoci Tavatavanawai are all in line to make their Rugby Championship debuts.
McAlister enjoyed a try-scoring debut in the third Test against France while Norris impressed off the bench twice. Holland laid down a marker in the second-row, starting at lock in all three Test matches and gets the nod over the fit-again Sam Darry.
Kirifi has been pushing for inclusion for several seasons now and took the opportunity when it came his way, earning selection ahead of Dalton Papali’i once again. The ‘Canes captain made telling impacts off the bench in the first two games before producing a standout shift in the third. His challenge now will be convincing the coaching staff that he deserves another shot, particularly with the loose forward stocks bursting at the seams after key injury returnees.
Finally, Tavatavanawai will be out to continue his solid start to his international career. The Highlanders and Tasman Mako star has the raw talent to be a global superstar, and what better time to showcase that than in his debut Rugby Championship campaign?
Losers
Injury-hit stars
The All Blacks’ strength and conditioning staff will be rather busy during the opening stages of the Rugby Championship as Lomax, Luke Jacobson, Roigard, Hotham and Clarke will not travel to South America for the opening two rounds of the tournament.
There is the possibility of the quintet featuring later on in the Championship, and Robertson will be eager to get them all back for the crunch meeting with the Springboks at Eden Park.
However, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Asafo Aumua and Stephen Perofeta are unlikely to be ready in time for South Africa’s arrival, with the trio left out of the squad as they continue their rehabilitation.
Sam Darry
Blues lock Sam Darry missed the entire Super Rugby campaign as well as the three Test matches against France. After impressing in the black jersey last year, there was a chance that the second row could be parachuted right back into the Test squad.
However, it was not to be for the 25-year-old, with Holland’s performances against Les Blues being too good to ignore, while Josh Lord has been preferred as injury cover for Jacobson.
This means that Darry will have to get himself back to full fitness in the NPC with Canterbury having marked his return to action against Wellington last week.
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Ethan Blackadder and Dalton Papali’i
A real indication of just how quickly the loose forward stocks in the All Blacks squad have evolved over the past 12 months is the non-selection of both Ethan Blackadder and Papali’i.
The duo both missed the squad selection for the mid-year Tests against France, but Papali’i did end up featuring in the third and final game.
In 2024, the pair were consistently selected in Robertson’s squad, with Blackadder starring in the Tests against England and in the Rugby Championship in particular. However, there has been somewhat of a shift in thinking in terms of the back-row make-up, highlighted by the head coach testing combinations with Savea returning to flank.
Kirifi’s form also made him hard to ignore, while Lakai and Sititi are very much the future of the All Blacks. Still, the omission of Blackadder in particular is frankly mindboggling considering his Super Rugby form and fitness.
Christian Lio-Willie
Perhaps the unluckiest player not to make the squad after his performances against France. The powerhouse Crusaders man has dropped out with Parker favoured instead, but is equally unfortunate to miss out as a training cover inclusion for Jacobson, too.
Lio-Willie was always going to be plugging the gap until Sititi returned, but he really stuck his hand up in July and will be gutted that he wasn’t able to do enough to retain a place in the squad at least.
Half-backs stocks
While the options in the back-row are bursting at the seams, the same cannot be said of the All Blacks’ scrum-half stocks.
Roigard is quite easily one of the best scrum-halves at the highest level right now but there is a gulf in class between him and the next. Cortez Ratima had shaky moments throughout the three Tests against the French and, while Hotham had bright moments, he joins Roigard on the sidelines for the trip to South America.
That leaves Robertson selecting Christie, who was dropped before the Rugby Championship last year and not selected again, and Preston, who has just one season of Super Rugby under his belt. The Crusaders’ breakout star could well stake his claim during this period but the number nine jersey is an area of concern for New Zealand.
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