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International

The All Blacks XV's dominance is nice, but is it helpful?

By Ned Lester

139 days ago

AJ Lam of the All Blacks XV and Alex Nankivell of Munster. Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Since its inaugural season in 2022, the All Blacks XV program has posted a 89 per cent win rate. While that rate clearly reflects well on New Zealand’s depth, the real mark of success for the development squad is how many All Blacks it is producing.

Four years into the team’s existence, every player who has donned the black jersey falls into at least one of three camps: Players for whom the All Blacks XV was a stepping stone before making the top squad; players who are still grinding on the fringes of national selection; and players who raised their stock with the All Blacks XV and have since decided to cash in by signing club contracts overseas.

New Zealand Rugby’s selection policy is an ever-present piece of context when assessing the All Blacks XV’s success, given the inherent catch-22 of revealing the deeper pecking order: while it gives some players a clear indication of how close they are to an All Blacks call-up, it gives others an equally clear indication of how far off the pace they are seen as being.

VIDEO

Crunching the numbers, 13 All Blacks XV-capped players have gone on to make All Blacks debuts, while 22 have taken up opportunities offshore, ending their chances of an All Blacks call-up entirely. More than a dozen previously capped All Blacks have stepped out for the All Blacks XV, keeping them relatively Test-ready and in the selection picture while sharing their experience with younger players.

All Blacks XV graduates

Tamaiti Williams, Ollie Norris, Brodie McAlister, George Bell, Fabian Holland, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Christian Lio-Willie, Simon Parker, Cortez Ratima, Cam Roigard, Billy Proctor, Ruben Love, Shaun Stevenson

Half of the players who have graduated from All Blacks XV to the All Blacks have done so in 2025, a fact that may do little to quiet All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson’s more magpie-esque critics, but does show a revised faith in the program after a tight filtering of talent in previous seasons.

There are some bona fide and budding stars among the newcomers, with Cam Roigard leading the pack alongside Fabian Holland and Tamaiti Williams.

While 28-year-olds Du’Plessis Kirifi and Brodie McAlister buck the trend, the age profile of players making the step up to the Test arena is very youthful. Wallace Sititi, Noah Hotham, Peter Lakai, and Kyle Preston have still managed to skip the middleman and play for the All Blacks before the All Blacks XV in the Scott Robertson era.

All Blacks XV Departures

Aidan Ross, Jermaine Ainsley, Oli Jager, Ricky Riccitelli, Josh Dickson, Zach Gallagher, Quinten Strange, Billy Harmon, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Akira Ioane, Pita Gus Sowakula, TJ Perenara, Brad Weber, Josh Ioane, Harry Plummer, Levi Aumua, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Alex Nankivell, Jack Goodhue, Shaun Stevenson, Sam Gilbert

There will be plenty of fans of the players above feeling their guy was hard done by, but that, of course, is the reality of selection in professional sport.

Ten of the All Blacks XV players who have now left New Zealand Rugby were previously capped All Blacks, and nine further names could be added, who are either current or previously capped All Blacks who remain in New Zealand. Chiefs hooker Tyrone Thompson is a unique case, having left to join his brother in the NRL but now returned to the Chiefs for the 2026 season.

Selections That Matter

The question that emerges from the stats is whether the ‘best of the rest’ selection strategy is the most effective for player development, and ultimately, the All Blacks’ success.

It’s clear there is talent that gets promoted, but so too talent that gets lost. That was the case before the All Blacks XV was formally established, and it will always be, given the financial opportunities beyond Super Rugby.

The reality is that the average age of All Blacks XV graduates is four years younger than All Blacks XV departures, painting a pretty clear picture of how far upstream selectors should look to find gold.

The appeal of having former All Blacks involved to impart knowledge is also clear. Still, the value of investing playing time in athletes in their late 20s and early 30s seems a touch tokenistic given the low follow-through rate.

Watching the games, it quickly becomes apparent who is comfortable at the next level of competition, which is surely the real value in this team: trialling youngsters and seeing their acumen in real time to assess their Test-level potential and readiness.

In 2024, the average age of the front row that faced Georgia was pushing 32. In 2025, players like Siale Lauaki and Jack Taylor, both 22, replaced Marcel Renata and Kurt Eklund, dropping the average age up front by nearly a decade.

That 21-25 age bracket feels like the sweet spot for All Blacks XV selection; players who have earned their stripes to play in Super Rugby and aroused intrigue over their prospects at the next level, but aren’t about to jet off as their All Blacks ambitions stall. Every minute on the field for this team is valuable experience, and as it stands, one can’t help but feel selectors are missing the mark by investing so much of that time in players on the cusp of leaving.

Comments

16 Comments

GodOfFriedChicken 138 days ago

The team’s still a bit underused tbh. Great to give players a run, but even though the given reason to let them tour at the same time as a main squad is to bring players over as cover, they don’t seem to bring players over enough, especially when you have games like the Wales tests where they could’ve checked if players dominant at XV level could bring the same energy over to test level. Guys like Papali’i or Ennor stood out in a big way that could indicate that they can still play test footy but if they don’t get called back up, is it really worth it for them other than being a stepping stone for an overseas professional contract?

Moreover, given the number of players that have sat out of both test and NPC rugby for a significant part of the season and the number of All Blacks with questionable form throughout the test season, they could’ve also used it as a chance to make sure more of those players are match fit or have an opportunity to regain confidence at a slightly lower level. Ruben Love could’ve had more reps at 10, Rieko could’ve had a better chance at relearning the wing position etc. Could create more competition too because it sends a message to players who are underperforming that they need to show up to get their spot back.

While I’m aware that rugby players do need to take care of their physical health, it’d be great if they used the AB XVs as well in a way that brought back the trials we used to have (e.g. the Possibles vs Probables). Perhaps in place of another test match for the AB XV, have players play for a spot on the team in a trial game (e.g. an NPC All Stars game). Or maybe even have a game between the AB XV and the Māori ABs with Māori AB players being given a chance to get on the squad too. Just a bit more healthy competition to keep up and coming players hungry. Feels like there are too many players who have incumbent spots regardless of how they perform internationally.

JW 138 days ago

Love the ideas for better internal matchups as well, Super rugby can’t always deliver on that as say in the case of Blues and Akira, Dalton, Hoskins etc, your team or opportunities might be antagonistic towards favourable AB consideration/picture. What I think would be cool, is the All Star NPC team vs a Veteran Super side made up of the best tried and true players that might not have fired during NPC. It would be like an upstarts versus big dogs game.

JW 138 days ago

hey could’ve also used it as a chance to make sure more of those players are match fit or have an opportunity to regain confidence at a slightly lower level.

I had a looong discussion with Sideline about the merits of playing a team in a February Rugby Championship (the Arg/SA games) window (aligned with a section of 6N), having it as a means of play for people returning for say a August through November injury period was a main factor. If you’re out for the main international window you are holiday then, you return to fitness with the start of your Super teams preseason in December, maybe get a warmup game with them, and have been building up to peak at a much earlier window for test footy.

Having such an idea, like a ABXV tour that’s unaligned from the ABs, might also have that sort of merit?

JW 138 days ago

but if they don’t get called back up, is it really worth it for them other than being a stepping stone for an overseas professional contract?

Oh as the author tries to argue, worth the opportunity being used just in the case a string of first team injuries happen over a younger player being used and gaurenteed that the opportunity with ABXV will provide some playing value in future.

I’m sure that sentence should have been more succinct, it sounded short in my mind.

Ben 138 days ago

We used to have an SA A side. Do we still? Is it the same basic idea? Like, almost good enough but not a feeder or development team because here now, gone tomorrow? So what's the purpose, indeed? What are the criteria? What need has NZ defined that SA doesn't seem to see? Why don't other tiers not provide a pipeline of talent? Is ABXV more like an academy if it has older players? All genuine questions. Enlighten me.

JW 138 days ago

Well do NZ still have an ABXV side, given it probably wont exist next year (succeeded in purpose by the Rivalry Tour). You have it till you don’t, and that works both ways. Does a bear sh…..

I think many of the boxes the concept ticks for NZR are built into SAs selection/rotation policy, so maybe their load and full season is why you haven’t seen it recently?

Imagine what it would be if Rassie designed it and oversaw it (which Razor has to some extent with this years team) you could have flankers and props being trialed at hooker, midfielders playing any position but in midfield, locks playing wing and contesting constantly for high ball, there would be a lot of great trial and error in such a team I reckon. It’s a real chance to think outside the box and practice contingencies and whether fringe squad players can be used to give a RWC squad greater coverage.

But there are other things I believe that will have a factor, like SA has changed their contracting somewhat and now only contract like top 50? ABXV could in some part be about just using your resources for brand and incentives, lots of different dynamics, having 5 Super sides and little prospects while being in a small window. It’s not all great, they took players out of domestic NPC I think, or some were delayed by finals from joining etc. But yeah, ours started due to Covid/opportunity from memory, so perhaps SARU will make something return when theyre ready?

Tk 138 days ago

Has anyone ever actually defined what ABXV’s purpose is? On all blacks.com it doesn't even seem to exist. If no one knows what the purpose is, how on earth can success, or lack of, be measured? If it's a development squad then why was Havili included and why was Pledger not? If it's to create Razor's 4 deep then play more games against better international opposition. Really it seems like a combo of keeping fringe players happy/ in NZ, revenue generation and PR.

JW 138 days ago

That’s the component I think the author missed. I would imagine NZR thought the SB XV and ENG B teams would be much better than they were. They certainly talked them up.

Hammer Head 138 days ago

To play and win rugby matches?

SK 139 days ago

The ABXV is a good concept. Players get valuable experience, creates a second tier of players to select from and gives coaches a taste of a higher level and if those coaches are next in line incorporates them into AB structures and familiarises them with players they will be able to select. Ireland have a similar side that focuses on youth and thats the emerging Ireland side. Would love to see the ABXV play against other teams in the same category like an SAXV or an England B or France B team as well. In the end its very difficult for this team to get the marquee fixtures it craves.

JW 138 days ago

Not me, those are the teams they played against SK, and as you suggest, they treat the purpose more in line with what the author wants, so aren’t that competitive. I much prefer playing national sides that would treat the game as seriously as the ABs do, Urugauy a good example, that sounded like a good game and I’d imagine full on games against PI sides could do as well.

Games like vs Munster are really cool, and maybe good for the first game on tour etc, but they just aren’t at the required standard during a test window (players out). Like French version of the Heartland XV concept, say versus a Pro Div 2 barbarian team, would probably give a sterner contest than uninterested French B players. But like I say in other posts, getting high level play would only be one of many purposes, so might be fine to lose out.

JW 139 days ago

the real mark of success for the development squad is how many All Blacks it is producing.

No, it’s not. That is more how other countries use a similar type team, but this ABXV has been used for all sorts of purposes as you go on to say. It’s for vets as much as younger players that haven’t yet played international footy.

Right, I see where you are going with your Selections That Matter. Yes they could change the above and make the team more about producing All Blacks, it is certainly what other countries seem to be they probably don’t have as unique a circumstance where they are already paying them the premium, so might as well use them, and don’t have it affect the prep of their players for the next season (that I know of), nor do they need to use it as a tool to generate income.

I think if you are doing an analysis you probably need to do it from the opposite angle of who hasn’t played for either AB team, and look at their quality in some context. How long are those players staying? It is ultimately a tool to keep players as well. Also I think you’ve glanced over the win rate too quickly, who really are these teams theyre playing? Aren’t they designed to actually do some of the things you suggest like ‘test them at the next level’? It wouldn’t appear so to me, not above a bunch of other reasons first.

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