Du’Plessis Kirifi on shock centre switch and All Blacks omission

Wellington sprung a selection shock this week by naming flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi at inside centre ahead of a clash with Auckland. The surprise move comes less than a fortnight after Kirifi missed All Blacks selection for the tour of South Africa, but this has nothing to do with higher honours.

Kirifi has captained the Lions to NPC titles in 2022 and 2024, and more recently helped lead the Hurricanes to a drought-breaking Super Rugby Pacific championship, but the backrower did all that with the number seven on his back.

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie overlooked Kirifi for the July Nations Championship Tests and again went in another direction for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in South Africa. Now, the 29-year-old is back at work with the Lions at the provincial level, starring in the opening round at openside flanker.

Hawke’s Bay visited the capital and left with an emphatic 52-33 win at Hnry Stadium, but Kirifi still managed to stand out. The Lions vice-captain scored a try, had a couple of try assists and won a game-high four turnovers.

As the Wellingtonians look to bounce back, coach Trent Renata was the first to float the idea of Kirifi moving into the midfield. “It was a last resort really,” Kirifi reflected, “I by no means put my hand up for the job.”

“It’s very new. There’s by no means been any prep gone into this, apart from this week. It has nothing to do with a want to be versatile,” the eight-Test All Blacks backrower told RugbyPass.

“It’s just the reality of our situation at the moment. We’ve got a few injuries, lost a few boys pre-season and a couple again last week against Hawke’s Bay.

“Just making do with what we’ve got and what we’ve got is a seven that can kind of play 12, hopefully.

“I’m never one to turn down a challenge. This is definitely new territory for me… there are similarities, one could say, from 12 to seven. We defend in a similar area during phase play, short passing, long passing is fairly similar.

“But by no means will it take away from those who play 12 every week… it’s a big challenge sitting in front of me but the boys have been amazing and there’s been plenty of help around me throughout the week to support me in hopefully adding some value towards the team on Saturday.”

The Crusaders dropped a bombshell selection decision of their own in April, naming utility back Leicester Fainga’anuku at openside before facing the NSW Waratahs. Fainga’anuku produced a remarkable performance, scoring one try in a 35-20 win at Christchurch’s One NZ Stadium.

Coach Rob Penney retained Fainga’anuku in the loose forwards for another five matches during the Super Rugby Pacific season, with the Crusader scoring a seventh-minute try opposite Kirifi in a round 12 derby thriller in New Zealand’s windy capital.

Joe Schmidt described Filipo Daugunu as the Wallabies’ “equivalent to Leicester Fainga’anuku” ahead of a Nations Championship Test against France last month, with the coach believing the Queensland Reds utility could cover seven if needed.

As Kirifi acknowledged, “versatility is definitely the word of the month” after being asked about the importance of covering more than one position. But the 2025 All Blacks XV skipper doubled down on this move having become a necessity for the Lions.

“To be honest bro, for me personally, this move has nothing to do with being versatile in terms of appealing for higher honours. It’s purely just the context of our team right now and me wanting to help out in a certain area,” Kirifi explained.

“But on the other side of that, who knows, then absolutely there’s another string to my bow and as we know in New Zealand Rugby right now, in the landscape of what’s happening, that can’t be a bad thing.

“We’ll have to wait and see how I go this weekend. If I go well, then obviously it is a tick in that box around versatility. But I’m not sure any teams or coaches around the world will be looking at me as a 12 primarily.

“I’d be pretty gutted if I overnight became a better 12 than I am a seven.”

All Blacks coach Rennie selected eight loose forwards in the squad for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, with the visitors set to play eight matches across the next five weeks. That includes a Test between the All Blacks and Springboks in Baltimore, the USA.

Ardie Savea will join the side over in the Republic shortly, with Rennie opting to rest the captain after a fairly non-stop period of training and playing since early 2025. Anton Segner, Luke Jacobson, Peter Lakai, Simon Parker and Wallace Sititi have been retained after earning selection for the July Tests.

Ethan Blackadder has been brought back into the All Blacks environment, having not played for the team since 2024 under then-coach Scott Robertson. Southland’s Semisi Ta’eiloa has also been selected, as one of three uncapped prospects in the original touring squad.

There’s been a fair bit of talk in recent weeks about the ability of these players to cover more than one position, while Kirifi is believed to be a specialist seven. In a couple of days, ‘Dupes’ will wear a starting number other than seven for the first time at the professional level.

“The last month and a bit have been a fair rollercoaster to say the least, but it’s just the reality,” he said, having helped the Hurricanes win Super Rugby Pacific in June.

“They’ve got four boys in there who can play seven and play seven well, but those boys can also play other positions and play other positions well.

“That’s not to say that I couldn’t but I clearly don’t fit in Rens’ picture at the moment and that’s fine. That’s the life we chose as professional athletes, as any sports person, amateur or professional, is that you are going to be favoured by some coaches and you’re not going to be favoured by others. That’s part of what we do. It’s the reality.

“Just learnt to accept that and move on. Feedback from them is to just continue to play well at NPC [level] with the Lions. They enjoyed my Super season and thought I played well but obviously a couple of other boys did some things that they liked a bit more, which I can’t argue with.”