Stat chat: Has Hoskins Sotutu answered the All Blacks' questions in 2025?

Everything Hoskins Sotutu touched in 2024 turned to gold. Yet, an All Blacks recall remained out of reach.

After leading all players with 12 tries scored in the Blues’ title run, Sotutu was left out in the cold, while a stroke of genius saw Wallace Sititi promoted to the top squad after just his rookie Super Rugby season.

In hindsight, it was an obvious call, with Sititi poised to be the face of the New Zealand pack for years to come. But at the time, it was a contentious call to say the least.

Ethan Blackadder, Samipeni Finau, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali’i, and Ardie Savea were the usual suspects selected in the loose trio, with Peter Lakai travelling with the team as an “emerging player”.

Head coach Scott Robertson labelled Sotutu’s omission  “the toughest call” he made in selecting his first-ever All Blacks squad, signalling the 26-year-old didn’t meet the defensive standard his counterparts set.

“We thought hard and deep, challenged myself, looked at all the reasons why I picked players, and that’s where we fell.”

The following day, Robertson expanded on that response.

“A big focus for me and the team, especially in the loose forwards at the Test level, is to be great on both sides of the ball,” the coach told SENZ.

“We talk, and I had a conversation with him (Sotutu) during the year and asked to see a few things, and we (selectors) had good conversations, and we went with somebody else.”

Fast forward to 2025, and it’s been a disrupted season for the Blues star. A knee injury delayed his start to the season, before a red card saw him suspended for two weeks.

WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED?!? 🤯

Hoskins Sotutu take a bow 🙌 #SuperRugbyPacific #CRUvBLU pic.twitter.com/0L7rD2mkK7

— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 18, 2025

The Blues, as a team, have been poor by defending champion standards, and much less effective in employing what was a damaging pick-and-go carry game a season ago.

So, how do Sotutu’s stats stack up compared to his MVP-esque 2024 campaign?

Defence

Tackles (per 80 minutes)
– 2024: 9.9 on 86.8%
– 2025: 10.9 on 89.4%

The Blues had a historically efficient defence in 2024, tackling at over 90 per cent for much of the season before those numbers rounded out to a still competition-leading 88.3% by the season’s end. The Aucklanders are actually bettering that mark thus far in 2025.

For Sotutu, it’s been a more productive year on the defensive end. However, the team as a whole is making 25.9 tackles more per game than they did last season, so the No. 8’s uptick in production isn’t beyond what could be expected of him given the circumstances.

Sotutu’s improved accuracy is certainly worthy of credit, but even with a jump of 2.6 per cent, he’s still trailing Kiwi counterparts like Christian Lio-Willie (94.5%), Luke Jacobson (94.3%), and Ardie Savea (94.2%), although he outperforms Peter Lakai (88.7%). Each of those players has played more minutes than Sotutu.

Fixture

Super Rugby Pacific

Fijian Drua

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Full-time

Blues

All Stats and Data

Breakdown

Defensive rucks hit (per 80)
– 2024: 4.9 on 16% effectiveness
– 2025: 6.7 on 12% effectiveness

Attacking rucks hit (per 80)
– 2024: 17 on 78% effectiveness
– 2025: 13.1 on 85% effectiveness

While for a bruising No. 8 like Sotutu, a strong carry game is the more defining characteristic, effectiveness when it comes to the ‘dirty work’ can never be overlooked.

As already established, the Blues are playing more defence in 2025, so a shift in statistical profile can be expected when it comes to breakdown work. More volume on the defensive end has resulted in lower effectiveness, while on attack, the inverse is true, with lower volume coming with greater effectiveness.

The benchmark for Kiwi No. 8s at defensive breakdowns this year is set by Luke Jacobson (24.1%), while the benchmark at attacking breakdowns is set by Peter Lakai (89.6%).

Attack

Carries (per 80)
– 2024: 9.9
– 2025: 12.6

Gainline success
– 2024: 75%
– 2025: 74%

Dominant carry rate
– 2024: 40%
– 2025: 34%

Carries committing two+ tacklers
– 2024: 63%
– 2025: 71%

Sotutu’s bread and butter, the attacking side of the ball, is where he reclaimed favour in 2024, at least amongst fans.

The No. 8 had not just the equal-most tries in ’24, but also the third-most try assists, giving him the most try involvements for that season.

This season, the Blues’ scoring has dropped off remarkably, going from scoring 35 points per game to just 25. Sotutu has three tries after eight games, not even the best mark on his team, as AJ Lam and Marcel Renata each have four.

Outside of scoring, the Blues’ increased defensive workload, of course, correlates with a lessened attacking workload, dropping from 135 carries per game to 118. Sotutu, though, has increased his carry volume, largely maintaining his gainline success rate while dropping off in his dominant carry rate – possibly due to additional attention from the defence.

Peter Lakai is the most employed ball-runner among the Kiwi No. 8s, also leading the field with a dominant carry rate of 54.8 per cent. Luke Jacobson commits two+ players in 81.2 per cent of his carries, the best among the All Blacks No. 8 contenders.

Sotutu leads his counterparts in gainline success rate, with Christian Lio-Willie the next best, trailing five per cent behind.

So, has Sotutu answered the call?

All in all, there have been some marginal shifts in the All Blacks hopeful’s game, but nothing beyond what can be expected within the lines of this team sport.

While he’s provided moments of X-factor, Sotutu’s quieter 2025 campaign has not come about due to a pivot towards traditional loose forward activities. He has also stopped being a lineout option for the Blues, after claiming the most lineout wins of the team last season.

The numbers show the Blues have dropped off when it comes to earning 22m entries (10.4 in 2024, down to 9.3 in 2025) and points per entry (3.3 down to 2.7), a trend that Sotutu has both been affected by and has been unable to reverse.

Gone are the days when All Blacks selectors are seduced by X-factor talent that compromises on all-round game. With new contenders coming into play for the All Blacks loose forward trio every year, and a couple of star No. 8s in the squad already, Sotutu’s international prospects remain slim in 2025.