Former All Black feels highly rated Crusaders forward who possesses a ‘big weapon’ is close to Test call-up
Crusaders lock Jamie Hannah in action against the Hurricanes and ex-All Blacks hooker James Parsons (inset).
James Parsons believes highly rated Crusaders second-row Jamie Hannah’s excellent Super Rugby Pacific form will be rewarded with a call-up to the All Blacks side this year.
Hannah was at the forefront of the Crusaders’ onslaught in their qualifying final clash with the Blues in Christchurch last Saturday which the defending champions won 52-31 to set up a semi-final encounter with the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday.
The 23-year-old shone on either side of the ball as he gained 42 attacking metres and finished with 18 tackles made.
That was not a one-off performance from Hannah who has impressed for the Crusaders throughout their Super Rugby Pacific campaign, and he is currently in ninth position in the tournament’s overall statistics for tackles made (169) while he also occupies second spot for lineout wins (60) during the season.
All Blacks’ first choice locks injured
Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland were the All Blacks‘ first choice locks during the 2025 international campaign but both are currently out of action, with Barrett set to miss the entire Test season due to a back injury while Holland is recovering from a shoulder ailment.
With that duo ruled out, former Blues and All Blacks hooker Parsons feels Hannah is close to a call-up to the men in black’s squad for their upcoming Nations Championship Tests against France, Italy and Ireland in July and expects him to be a certainty for New Zealand’s squad when they visit South Africa on their eagerly anticipated tour in August.
“I think it was like 18 tackles for one miss last night (from Hannah against the Blues), close to 17 carries,” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“And a lot of those carries were on the edge, so he had some good metres, but even when he carried in the tight, I always talk about it now in the carry, it’s so much about the clean is there, but that carry getting obviously (over) the gain line, but then that lightning quick ball.
“And he managed to do that against obviously a big pack in the Blues a number of times as well.
“So, and then his height, lineout defensively and then on attack is a big, big weapon.”
Despite being without the likes of Barrett and Holland, Parsons believes there are several locks in the running to make it into the All Blacks squad.
“I suppose it’s a little bit of a log jam,” he said.
“You get the feeling Josh Lord’s definitely there, Tupu Vaa’i’s definitely there. And then, personally, I think Paddy (Patrick Tuipulotu) at Test match level, like you just can’t match that mass.
“And you think about South Africa, or you think about Ireland, you think about France coming in July.
“Someone like Paddy with his experience and leadership off the pine, I just don’t think you can leave out at this stage.
“And I suppose then it’s the makeup of the squad. Do the selectors go, ‘Hey, we’ll take five loosies instead of six and Tupou Vaa’i can cover in that loose forward trio’. And they take the five locks, which makes (it) a little bit easier.
‘Jamie Hannah put himself in the race’
“And you sort of get the feeling, well, in my opinion, you’ve got (Sam) Darry, who’s obviously experienced there, going for that spot. You’ve got Jamie Hannah, who’s put himself in the race.
“And I just think (Seuseu) Naitoa Ah Kuoi, man, some of his work this year, when there’s been injuries to Lord and Vaa’i, like his numbers are just as big.
“And again, he’s just got mass. He’s obviously an older athlete. And just having that ability at international level, I just think would pay dividends.”
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Parsons feels despite being the most inexperienced of the aforementioned players mentioned, Hannah’s efforts will be rewarded with an All Blacks call-up sooner rather than later if he helps the Crusaders to defend their Super Rugby Pacific title.
“Jamie Hannah will be an All Black. Like, let’s not worry too much about that. I definitely think he’ll be in the 44 (man squad) that goes to South Africa,” he explained.
“But it’s just July. They may go with what they know, new coaching group, guys that have experience. Because as we’ve seen, you’ve got to win, or everyone expects us to win Test matches in terms of the fans.
“So they want to be able to hit the ground running. But another two big performances (from Hannah) and they win the title, I think that flips on its head.”