Leicester Fainga'anuku flown into the All Blacks squad

Returning Tasman Makos midfielder Leicester Fainga’anuku has been drafted into the All Blacks squad as an injury replacement for Timoci Tavatavanawai.

The Makos teammates will trade places as Tavatavanawai was ruled out of the rest of the Rugby Championship after breaking his arm over the weekend after 20 minutes of action against Otago.

Last month NZR originally ruled that Fainga’anuku was not eligible to return to the All Blacks for the Championship except for a special exemption. With injuries hitting the midfield stocks, it appears that grounds for exemption have been reached.

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“Obviously Timoci, Jim, has broken his radius,” Scott Robertson told media Monday.

“He’s got an operation today, he’s going to be out for 12 weeks. So we’ve brought Leicester Fainga’anuku into the squad, he arrived last night.”

“He was here for pre-season for Tasman, played all the games, we asked the board if he’s ticked the eligibility and they said yes. He’s good to go.

“He’s a great power runner, hold his feet beautifully, attracts defenders. He played really well [in France], we are really pleased he’s come straight back into the fold and performed at the highest level.

On whether he could suit up this weekend against the Springboks, Robertson confirmed that ‘everyone is eligible to get picked’ this weekend.

“The good thing about Leicester is he can play multiple positions.

“I think he’s played a lot more centre over there, but he’s a hell of a winger as well, played a lot of 12 as well. He’s covered a few different positions.

“His experience over there has improved his game in certain areas.”

The 25-year-old All Black returned to action in New Zealand in the NPC after finishing his 18-month stint with Toulon following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with his last start coming against Ireland in the quarter-final.

The blockbusting winger featured seven times for the All Blacks across 2022-23.