To go or not to go? That is the question. The power struggle over eligibility criteria for All Blacks selection has provoked a tug of war in the minds of Kiwi players plying their trade abroad. Razor Robertson wants more flexibility in the rules, but the instinct at home is to batten down the hatches and keep the system which has served New Zealand so well for so long, utterly airtight.
Ex-Crusaders wingman Leicester Fainga’anuku is the latest to feel a pull that goes both ways. Fainga’anuku signed an 18-month contract with Top 14 giants Toulon but wants to return home in time to make a case for 2027 World Cup selection.
He made no bones about the paradoxical nature of the choice in a recent interview.
“I am going to miss this place, that’s for sure. I’ve loved Toulon, the Top 14, and all the guys I’ve played with.
“I like playing in New Zealand – but, for rugby, I prefer the Top 14.
“I had to make a difficult choice. I had to go home for my wife, my family. It was important for us to go home, even more so with the birth of my child. My son will grow up surrounded by his family.
“You know the rules as well as I do. The rules are tough, I can’t be selected for the All Blacks while being abroad. That is also one of the positive aspects of going back to New Zealand. I can offer my services to the All Blacks.”
The lure of the Top 14 is about far, far more than just money – as Wallaby outside-half Noah Lolesio found when he spent a transformative period with the same club on the Côte D’Azur as a Rugby World Cup 2023 medical ‘joker’. He described the three-month stint as ‘probably the most critical experience I’ve had so far in my career’.
Exposure to a more relaxed and open lifestyle in France dragged the Brumbies pivot out of the rugby hothouse and back into the real world in which there is a life outside the game.
“I’ve tried to take my approach from France back to here at the Brums and really loosen myself up, just enjoy it and not put so much pressure on myself as I’ve probably done in the last few years,” he said.
It is hard indeed to argue it has not had a positive impact on his performances for Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies. The Canberra playmaker is metamorphosing quickly into the 10 every Australia supporter hoped he would become, and cemented his place as a starter as after years spent wandering in a hypertense wilderness of ‘what ifs?’
The makeover for Fainga’anuku came via a change of position. He had been regarded primarily as a power wing back in New Zealand but in France he has played 18 of his 23 games at centre, and in the current season 13 has been his shirt exclusively at the fabled Stade Mayol. The switch had always been on his mind, but it happened rather too rarely to count in Christchurch.
“I always thought one day, I would switch to centre. I already had the opportunity to do it in New Zealand, but [head coach] Pierre [Mignoni] and the staff offered me a slightly longer stint. It was a privilege and I appreciated the opportunity.
“I feel like I have more influence on the game. You can manage the momentum of the match, you are also more connected to the teammates around you. You feel like you can help them – I love that! Now, I want to keep both facets, by being able to play on the wing as well as in the centre.
“I now understand what is expected of a winger or a centre. But, no matter the position, I am always ready to be on the field.”
New Zealand has always produced an abundance of high-quality back three talents, and on occasion it has chosen some unfortunate moments to a convert full-back or wing into a second five-eighth or centre. Mils Muliaina, Leon MacDonald, Christian Cullen will tell you all you need to know about that story. The time spent tinkering with the pairing of an erstwhile full-back [David Havili] with a left wing [Rieko Ioane] arguably cost Ian Foster’s All Blacks the chance to develop a winning midfield formula in time for the 2023 World Cup.
The duo currently favoured by Robertson [Jordie Barrett and Ioane] represents another back three transformation, but at least one of them has expressed exactly the same sentiments as Fainga’anuku. Barrett stated he was ‘most comfortable’ playing at second five-eighth while still in New Zealand, and nothing has changed with his new club Leinster.
“I would like to think I am a number 12 that can probably play 15, and that’s the way I see myself. I think most of my value is at 12 but I still enjoy 15, ever since transitioning into the midfield with the All Blacks and the Hurricanes.”
Where speed and the back three skillset often move inside in New Zealand, in France it tends to stay out on the edges. Power remains where it really matters – standing strong in the middle of the field, in the place where it can manage the momentum of matches more consistently and stay connected best to its mates.
When Fainga’anuku does return to New Zealand, I believe it will be with the idea of starting him at centre in the national side in time for the 2027 World Cup. That plan will have some inbuilt advantages for Razor: it will allow Leicester to reconnect with Richie Mo’unga and hasten the magician’s return from Japan, and it will encourage Jordie Barrett to take on more playmaking responsibility with a more powerful presence next to him.
Having only appeared in seven of Toulon’s first 13 games in the Top 14, Fainga’anuku was already the club leader in tackle-busts with 32. That is where you want him, breaking tackles down the middle of the field. First for Crusaders, and preferably off Mo’unga.
The latest iteration, translated to the number 13 jersey for Toulon, occurred in the club’s recent home game against Racing 92.
The power to bulldoze down the opposition 10 channel is reinforced by nice touch on the left-hand offload, and RCT promptly scored on the next phase of possession.
Fainga’anuku carries like a backline version of Ardie Savea, and his ability to generate metres-after-contact has another natural use on the pick-and-go [where he was used so effectively by the Christchurch outfit], or on short passes near the ruck, or down a skinny short side.
On defence Fainga’anuku is a natural jackal despite starting from a spot on the outside of the field. He already had four pilfers at the breakdown in his first 11 games for RCT despite limited playing time for his new club. That ranked him only one behind Les Rouges et Noirs’ best operator in that area [Englishman Lewis Ludlam] and 10th in the league overall.
Like Savea, Fainga’anuku gains in strength the lower he plays to the ground, on attack and defence alike. Contact with the earth only fuels his power, and that power belongs closer to the epicentre of the action.
New Zealand has a chance to reverse the recent trend of trying to shoehorn unlikely, and possibly unwilling back three talents into midfield with Fainga’anuki’s impending return. The current incumbent at 13 is Rieko Ioane, but some influential recent ex-All Blacks have rightly questioned his right to the role.
As Israel Dagg commented after New Zealand’s sole November tour defeat to France: “Rieko’s strengths are his speed, his ability to break on the outside, but defenders know that.
“You saw him trying to beat Gaël Fickou on the outside constantly, get the ball on an outside burst. So, if I’m a defender, I stay on his outside because he’s only going to beat you on the outside.
“I’m not really sold on Rieko as a centre. He’s a hell of a player, hell of an athlete. Big couple of weeks for him off the field [with the Johnny Sexton social media face-off in mind], but has he been able to deliver on the field?”
As a wing who prefers to play centre, Fainga’anuku can beat a defender on the outside with speed and fend, but that defender also needs to be mindful of his ability to plough through all but the most accurate and determined of tackles, straight ahead.
His experience with Toulon has confirmed power has a home at 13. The overseas makeover has already happened, and if Razor cannot make use of it, there will always been a welcome on the Riviera. As Pierre Mignoni said, “I know Scott Robertson. He had already warned me, when [Leicester] signed here, that he was young, that he would like to get him back. Maybe, in the future, I will be able to get him back too.”
Haha, I like that one!
That's the predicament of a isolated SH team I'm afraid. So many more markets are opening up now however, I wonder if he would have chose a more local one if he could still be realistic chance of being an All Black/playing International footy?
I noticed the change in confidence immediately. So many people didn't want to believe it though, and though he didn't set the world on fire, but many of those same people still can't accept what has transpired with the Wallabies success I'd imagine. That is the downside of the SH cauldron, it's not for everybody. It took Richie Mo'unga nearly for years to get his head around if and that was still with all the success he had.
Unfortunately for Leicester I don't think he's going to like his prospects, it will be another real litmus test for his coach. And I'm not talking about Penney, but he could be the most important player in the length of LF's return. Braydon Ennor is another winger who wants to be a center. He used to have pace, but sadly that's been taken away from him now, so I can only really see him running out in the 13 jersey for the Crusaders. What I always liked about LF was the prospect of him being newer version of Nonu and Aki. Second Five, with McLeod not nailing the spot imo, and Aumua as the Center backup, is what I can see Leicester being preferred in as apposed to wing. I hope he's adaptable enough to embrace it.
The most important thing when selecting a 13 will always be does he have skills that compliment his 12? The midfield is the single most important combination on the pitch and the selection of the 12 and 13 should be considered in tandem, not individually.
What is very clear is Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane have poor chemistry and do not compliment each other's skill set. One or both needs to be dropped from the starting midfield permanently.
Jordie has demonstrated he has the skills to be a world class playmaking 12 but he will never be Ma'a Nonu or Tana Umaga or Nganai Laumape, who could break the line with power almost at will.
Therefore, a big power runner at 13 like Fainga'anuka to play with Barrett at 12 seems like a possible world class combo.
Reiko has just not been able to gel on attack with any version of the backline around him. All other options will be giving something up on D, but he is probably in the bottom quartile of attacking centres in NZ. Despite being big, powerful and fast he is surprisingly easy to contain as the article points out. I think he went backwards in 2024 for picking lines and connecting with players around him. Numerous examples of 10/12/15 all zigging while Reiko is zagging.
LF coming back is an exciting prospect, but definitely seems to be a position fairly low on options. Billy Proctor obviously right up there but he had some serious defensive wobbles in his two games so far against fairly average opposition, but below that there aren't that many guys pushing for higher honours. Sullivan (when fit for 1 game per season) always looks dangerous, Macleod, Aumua, Umaga-Jensen.
ALB is a conundrum - 81 tests but not consistently excellent enough to own the shirt even after 8 seasons in the team - that must be rare in itself for so many coaches to see a player as the second best option to so many different players starting ahead of him. It's normally the type of thing you see with a halfback or hooker who is behind someone absolutely world class.
Yep ALB was one that I didn't like the use of this year. Was an awesome player going forward in his youth and a great foil this year, but can't see much use going forward.
ALB is equally adept at 12 and 13 so that makes him the ideal bench player. Its impossible to be consistant when you arnt getting starts tho.
Yes he’s playing well and should be a viable option now because of this at 13 for the ABs
IMO a little slow to turn on D but perhaps that has improved
Defence is a massive part of test midfield partnerships these days and whilst they polarise (both or one of them) Jor-ko lets little through - put it this way how many midfielders score through them?
Rieko is suffering on distribution but my his scramble D is incredible
It’s another reason why Proctor should be slowly persevered
He could skinned twice by Riley for Japan
Anyway I look forward to seeing Leicester back in black!
He played great in the World Cup quarterfinal then didn’t make the team in the final!!
Reiko used to be a fine winger but nowhere as good as a centre. Fainganuku on the other is excellent in the centre position and wants to play there. Crusaders & the ABs will be all the richer with him in that position. Interesting to see what transpires.
You think Penney will play him there over Ennor? If it's like any other year the coach want need to make that choice lol
Yes it is interesting and the midfield looks a whole lot better balanced with his power at 13.
There seems to be some talk of returning Richie Mu’unga and Shannon Frizzel back to the All Blacks but these are yet to be confirmed and unlikely to happen till at least 2026. Leicester Fainga’anuku, however, is confirmed to be returning in the near future and is, in my view, more likely to be a transformative player.
The best All Blacks teams have always had authoritative Centres in their midfield. This, in my memory, includes players like Bruce Robertson (1970s), Joe Stanley (1980s), Frank Bunce (1990s), Tana Umaga (2000s), Conrad Smith (2000-10s). What connects all these players is not their physical qualities but their mental qualities - knowing when to pass and when not to, primarily.
For all his athletic qualities, Rieko Ioane just still doesn’t appear able to do this. Looking back at the last match against France alone, you can see his shaky hands and wrong option taking at times that cost try-scoring opportunities and led to turnovers. However, selectors and fans remain interested in his athletic qualities still - he is probably the quickest man on the pitch in many matches that he plays in and has a really big frame too. It is what keeps players like Anton Lieniert-Brown and Billie Proctor out of the picture along with the underrated-but-injury-prone Jack Goodhue before then.
However, Leicester Fainga’anuku is an even stronger athlete - maybe not as out-and-out quick but certainly powerful and very industrious. If he can demonstrate an ability to think on his feet and have a safe pair of hands, he could definitely force a rethink about incumbency.
I reckon this is at the core of the debate A. He doesn't have the linking or decision-making instincts of a Conrad Smith. If you ask what was the Snake's best quality, it would be exactly that.
The problem is that Rieko has enough great moments due to his natural speed and athleticism to keep him in the spot.
Overall I suspect LF would giuve far more to the team from 13 though.
Bruce Robertson. Now there was a centre. Like Brett Kenny just drifted on his feet.
No, because New Zealand's tall poppy culture won't allow him to play for the All Blacks while he is making bank.
No thats not true sorry. Every All Black last year made money. Its WHERE they chose that makes the difference. Did you see the CHOOSE bit? Thats the crucial part. No one is "entitled" to represent their country or be treated different because they want different choices.
When he comes back home he'll be eligible, ain't that enough??
People didn’t seem to have a problem with SBW playing for NZ back in the day..
Rieko just needs someone inside him that can put him away. Awesome defender. Problem is bb and jb.
This just doesn't happen against pro defences like it used to in the amateur era, with outside centres running the outer arc and putting their wing away.
Listen to Israel Dagg!
the 'problem' is that he is a winger.
No doubt Leicester Fainga'anuku can play centre for the AB's. He got better and better each year for the Crusaders. 2023 winning team he was one of our best. While he played largely on the wing, a lot of his line breaks tries were "straight up the guts " as the saying goes. He is coming back here in 2026 to the Crusaders.
Yep ABs need that and it will help both Jordie and whoever plays 10👍
Yes, I would feel Fainga’anuku can become a centre, and challenge for an AB place. Only half way through his 25th year, he certainly has time on his side to develop as a 13. The apprenticeship is well under way, thanks to his time with Toulon. The value of moving offshore for a spell again highlighted. Pity Noah Lolesio did not have longer playing alongside Fainga’anuku.
Yes that would have been an interesting combo Miz, though Toulon have three good 10's in Biggar, Herve and Garbisi.
Three months must have seemed like three years bank of experience to young Noah! All that input from the grand old man Alun Wyn Jones.😁
A couple of points after a quick read. Lolesio is NOT "metamorphosing quickly into the 10" every Aussie wanted. He is a major project and is about 1/4 of the journey thru that projects time. Also Nick LF was always a centre wing in NZ. Was always considered as that by his coaches inc Razor. Sure his rep stuff has been as wing but thats just a selection that filled a need.
Its a bit like asking "Can NZ turn Jordan into a fullback" as he's always been one but was selected by Foster as a winger and did OK at it eh.
Yep, there is just a flood of talent that put him on the wing. I hope missing these two years has not seen him miss his chance as there is now a new flood of talent for him to contend with.
Lolesio is certainly far better than he was under previous coaches and has made the spot his own now.
If LF was always a centre, why didn't the Saders play him there more often? The figures are staring you in the face.
Remember he is still only 25, Hht.
Can NZ turn Ioane in to a centre ? No.