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Nations Championship

Dave Rennie addresses Fehi Fineanganofo's future after All Blacks call-up

Henry Lee

Published: 14 hours ago | 21 June 2026 18:26 PDT
Updated: 14 hours ago | 21 June 2026 18:28 PDT

Fehi Fineanganofo of the Hurricanes celebrates after scoring a try during the round 11 Super Rugby match between Hurricanes and ACT Brumbies at One NZ Stadium, on April 25, 2026, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

New All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has given the public an insight into what conversations have been had with Hurricanes winger Fehi Fineanganofo.

Fineanganofo, who scored 17 tries in the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, was named in Rennie’s first All Blacks squad on Monday afternoon.

The Hurricanes winger showed impressive form throughout the Super Rugby season, alongside his teammate, Josh Moorby, who was also selected as an uncapped player in Rennie’s squad.

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Many believed that when Fineanganofo signed with the Newcastle Red Bulls early in 2026, his All Blacks future would be put on hold for the next two years.

But rumours have circulated in rugby circles regarding a possible way out of his Red Bulls contract, which was set to begin at the start of the 2027 season in England.

““I have woken up this morning to some news, and it’s good news for New Zealand Rugby fans and Hurricane fans, and terrible news for the Newcastle fans,” claimed the co-host of The Good, The Bad, The Rugby alongside Jeremy Paul and Justin Marshall.

“My sources on the ground in Newcastle are telling me they’re very, very upset that the deal is off.”

Now that Fineangaofo has been named in the All Blacks squad for the 2026 Nations Championship fixtures in July, Rennie was questioned on the current situation.

“I think that’s the process that he’s going through, but what we know is he’s contracted here till November,” Rennie told Kirstie Stanway and Aaron Cruden on Sky Sport.

“His form has been irresistible, and we’re keen to name him.

“So, yeah, I guess he’ll work through that in time.”

Fineanganofo is one of four uncapped players in Rennie’s squad, including Moorby, Hurricanes teammate Xavier Numia, and Anton Segner.

Rennie and his selectors, Neil Barnes and Sir Graham Henry, also named Crusaders lock Jamie Hannah as an injury replacement, as Tupou Vaa’i recovers from concussion.

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Comments

3 Comments

Blackmania 7 hours ago

Rennie is probably making the right call by selecting Fehi, even though I was initially skeptical about that possibility.

The wing position is clearly a “form-based” position. And while some might argue that there’s little point in selecting a player who won’t be available for the next Rugby World Cup if his move to Newcastle is confirmed,

he will still be playing throughout the year. On top of that, we’ll have Taumoefolau becoming eligible in October, and Tangitau returning in 2027. We need to take a short-term approach in this position to make the most of the form of the players currently available.

Tk 8 hours ago

The cynic in me says that he needs one cap to keep him committed to ABs even if Newcastle enforce the contract

MDL 11 hours ago

Newcastle RB can have Rieko I - almost the same 🤣

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