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Six uncapped players named in the All Blacks squad for Ireland series

Silver Lake, the private equity firm have invested heavily in the All Blacks brand. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Getty Images)

The All Blacks squad for the three-match test series with Ireland has been named in Auckland, with Ian Foster and his selectors picking six uncapped players in the 38-man squad.

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After securing an exemption from World Rugby earlier this year, as expected uncapped halfback Folau Fakatava was named as one of three No 9s in squad alongside Aaron Smith and Finlay Christie.

TJ Perenara and Brad Weber were notable omissions, but whom are widely expected to be named in the Maori All Blacks squad.

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After losing Joe Moody to a season-ending knee injury, further cover was needed up front and uncapped Chiefs prop Aidan Ross has been drafted in to take one of seven prop selections. Ross joins the three Blues props Nepo Laulala, Ofa Tuungafasi, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Chiefs teammate Angus Ta’avao and Crusader George Bower.

At hooker, Dane Coles has retained a place alongside Codie Taylor and Samisoni Taukei’aho.

Chiefs loose forward Pita Gus Sowakula beat out the likes of Luke Jacobson to secure selection in the crowded backrow alongside captain Sam Cane, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu and Akira Ioane.

Blues fullback Stephen Perofeta has been named as one of three first five-eighths alongside the star pair of Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was the only newcomer to the midfield stocks.

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Jack Goodhue returns to the squad following his long injury layoff to provide experience to the midfield group also comprising of David Havili, Rieko Ioane and Quinn Tupaea.

Out wide, in-form Crusaders wing Leicester Fainga’anuku has been selected alongside Will Jordan, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, and Sevu Reece.

Of the six new selections, versatility has been a theme with Perofeta offering cover at first five and fullback, Sowakula at blindside and No 8 while Fainga’anuku can play centre as well as wing.

The other notable omissions are Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot, Alex Hodgman of the Blues, Braydon Ennor and George Bridge of the Crusaders, Hurricanes front row pair Tyrel Lomax and Asafo Aumua, and flanker Shannon Frizell all whom played for the All Blacks last year.

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Ethan Blackadder and Anton Lienert-Brown were ruled out of contention with injuries.

The reduction in squad size was expected as Ian Foster made it clear that the expanded squad last year was to manage quarantine regulations when travelling to cover potential injuries.

New selections: Aidan Ross (Chiefs), Folau Fakatava (Highlanders), Pita Gus Sowakula (Chiefs), Stephen Perofeta (Blues), Leicester Fainga’anuku (Crusaders)

Full squad:

Hookers

Dane Coles (Hurricanes, Wellington)
Codie Taylor (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Samisoni Taukei’aho (Chiefs, Waikato)

Props

Aidan Ross* (Chiefs, Bay of Plenty)
George Bower (Crusaders, Otago)
Nepo Laulala (Blues, Counties Manukau)
Ofa Tuungafasi (Blues, Northland)
Karl Tu’inukuafe (Blues, North Harbour)
Angus Ta’avao (Chiefs, Auckland)

Locks
Samuel Whitelock (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Brodie Retallick (Chiefs, Hawkes Bay)
Scott Barrett (Crusaders, Taranaki)
Josh Lord (Chiefs, Taranaki)
Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs, Taranaki)

Loose Forwards
Pita Gus Sowakula* (Chiefs, Taranaki)
Sam Cane (Chiefs, Bay of Plenty)
Dalton Papalii (Blues, Counties Manukau)
Ardie Savea (Hurricanes, Wellington)
Akira Ioane (Blues, Auckland)
Hoskins Sotutu (Blues, Counties Manukau)

Halfbacks
Folau Fakatava* (Highlanders, Hawkes Bay)
Aaron Smith (Highlanders, Manawatu)
Finlay Christie (Blues, Tasman)

First five-eighths
Stephen Perofeta* (Blues, Taranaki)
Beauden Barrett (Blues, Taranaki)
Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders, Canterbury)

Mid-fielders
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck* (Blues, Auckland)
Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs, Waikato)
Jack Goodhue (Crusaders, Northland)
Rieko Ioane (Blues, Auckland)
David Havili (Crusaders, Tasman)

Outside backs
Leicester Fainga’anuku* (Crusaders, Tasman)
Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes, Taranaki)
Will Jordan (Crusaders, Tasman)
Caleb Clarke (Blues, Auckland)
Sevu Reece (Crusaders, Tasman)

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Comments

6 Comments
J
Joe 891 days ago

I like big Karl, but if we are focusing on building combinations - as the coaches said - then why are we picking a guy who won't be available for the RWC2023?
Surely De Groot, Hodgeman - or even projects like Tamaiti Williams/Ollie Norris, would have been better value...

The loose forwards lack balance; too many 'offense' based players (Ioane, Savea, Sowakula, Sotutu) at the expense of work-rate (Jacobson, Grace).

And if I'm being really picky, it should have been Christie OR Fakatava - with Weber the other halfback. We've lost a lot of experience very suddenly in a key spot!

s
spady 892 days ago

Pita Gus, so deserving.

G
Graeme 892 days ago

Primarily picked on form, Got to feel from E De Groot, B Webber, TJ, Luke Jacobs, Georgie Bridge. Unlucky due to injury for Dalts Papalii & Shan Frizelle.

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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