Shaun Stevenson reveals feedback he received from All Blacks coaches

Not many players have played as well at club level as Shaun Stevenson has in 2023. The Chiefs fullback was influential in his team’s Super Rugby Pacific season where they only lost two games.

An uproar was the inevitable reaction to Stevenon’s initial omission from the All Blacks Rugby Championship squad, with the utility back only making the cut as an injury reserve.

It wasn’t the first time the 26-year-old had been overlooked either, having initially missed selection for the All Blacks XV in 2022 despite damaging form for the Maori All Blacks and North Harbour in the NPC.

Rumours around Stevenson’s future began to circulate with no clear explanation for the omission offered and reports of an NRL deal on the table.

But Stevenson got his chance in the All Blacks XV jersey in the end and was an unmistakable standout. His vision and running game translated exceptionally to the international stage and his monstrous kicking game was a huge asset in the territorial battle.

Those strengths promised to light up the All Blacks backline at the World Cup but Ian Foster and his selectors weren’t convinced the Chiefs fullback was the right man for the job.

The initial feedback on his skillset was a need for improvement on the defensive side of the ball. While the coach claimed to see improvement in that area throughout Stevenson’s time in camp, it wasn’t enough to make the World Cup squad.

The World Cup dream may not be over just yet, Stevenson is most likely the next man up if injuries strike the All Blacks camp. But in the meantime, Stevenson has been addressing the coaching team’s feedback.

“You always have work ons in your game,” he told The Morning Shift. “Your game’s never perfect. There’s a few things, it’s quite technical in a way.

“When there’s rucks happening and stuff like that, they’re just telling me to get in a better position, better body position because sometimes I might not look like I’m strong enough in a position.

“And then I guess it’s like, work on the ground. So, if I’m getting tackled, how am I getting the ball back as fast as possible in terms of snapping it back or not getting stuck in a position where teams can get on the ball.”

There’s no denying the talent of the man, the highlights reel is evidence of the world-class skills Stevenson possesses, but the dark arts of rugby is an area you have to nail to feature at the top level.

The chance to don the black jersey finally came in the second Bledisloe test, and Stevenson celebrated his debut with a try in the corner.

The greatest achievement of his career was followed just two days later by the World Cup squad announcement, Stevenson’s name was not called.

“Obviously there’s parts of my game like that that does need to be worked on,” he added. “I guess it’s just tough because obviously it’s micro-skills and for whatever reason, it’s just the way it goes. I’m not selecting so it’s not up to me.

“That’s what I tried to go into the All Black camp (and do), we sat down, (they said) ‘this is what we want you to work on, get along with these coaches’ and that’s what I felt like i did over the last four weeks when I was in there, was just going to try and nail the things that they’ve told me.

“Because they were like ‘oh you can play footy, but there’s other things that you need, your micro-skills you need to work on’.”