Hoskins Sotutu’s All Blacks snub fallout not going away after Super Rugby Pacific award
Blues star Hoskins Sotutu with ball in hand.
Recent All Blacks snub Hoskins Sotutu has been awarded the Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year gong after a brilliant campaign for 2024 champions, the Blues.
Sotutu was a surprise omission from Scott Robertson’s New Zealand squad that was announced last week, with Wallace Sititi preferred as the second number eight.
Subsequently, there has been a backlash in the media and on social media as many feel Sotutu is incredibly unlucky not to have made the 32-man All Blacks squad.
Super Rugby Pacific award
Robertson has had to field plenty of questions about Sotutu’s absence and just as the fallout appears to have been dying down, the back-row has received an award.
Super Rugby Pacific announced on Monday that the back-row has been crowned Player of the Year after a memorable season in the number eight shirt for the Blues.
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Your #SuperRugbyPacific season 2024 MVP: Hoskins Sotutu! 🏆
A remarkable season for the @BluesRugbyTeam man! pic.twitter.com/wQBzUhfFH3
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) July 1, 2024
Sotutu scored 12 tries and assisted eight during the Super Rugby Pacific season – both league-high tallies for a forward – and was also in the top 10 for carries made.
His 12 crossings equalled the record for tries scored by a forward in a Super Rugby season, joining Folau Fainga’a, Malcolm Marx and Codie Taylor at the top.
Without the ball he featured in the top 20 for tackles and in the top five for rucks hit, while he also won 14 turnovers in an all-action season for the excellent Blues.
Robertson’s decision
Since picking his 32-player squad, Robertson has revealed that he took responsibility for the back-row selections as he sections off positions to his specialist coaches.
That means forwards coach Jason Ryan focusses on the tight five, Scott Hansen the half-backs, Jason Holland midfield and Leon MacDonald on the outside backs.
New Zealand begin their mid-year series against England on Saturday at Forsyth Barr Stadium before the teams meet again at Eden Park in Auckland next Saturday.
Following their two-Test series with the Red Rose, the All Blacks take on Fiji in San Diego, USA, on Friday, July 19 where it is likely that they will rotate their line-up.
