'He came up in discussions': Dave Rennie on the omission of Kyren Taumoefolau

The star of the 2026 NPC season, Kyren Taumoefloau, became All Blacks-eligible at the start of October while he was busy breaking the single-season try-scoring record for Tasman. However, Dave Rennie says he needs to see more than all-out attack before selecting the youngster in the New Zealand squad.

Taumoefolau bagged 19 tries in his 11 starts for Tasman this season, also leading the competition in clean breaks, defenders beaten, and metres made with the ball in hand.

The Mako were ultimately sent home in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up, Northland, but the excitement that the 23-year-old former Tonga international generated created plenty of potential All Blacks bolter noise.

However, in naming his All Blacks squad for the Nations Championship on Tuesday morning, Rennie revealed an outside back cohort that consisted of Rieko Ioane, Chay Fihaki, Fehi Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett.

Asked about Taumoefolau’s omission at the squad naming press conference in Auckland, Rennie said: “Yeah, look, he came up in discussions. Obviously, he scored a lot of tries and had a good Super season as well. I think he’s got a few areas to focus on, especially defensively. And so his job will be to have a really big Super season next year, like a lot of other guys, to apply a bit of pressure. But yeah, we’ve got some pretty good outside backs at the moment.”

Also missing the cut was Emoni Narawa, who has just four Test caps to his name after three years coming in and out of the squad.

“That was another conversation, not just among the selectors, but among the coaches. And look, he’s got a lot of support within the group,” Rennie said.

“We ended up deciding to take Chay (Fihaki); we liked what we saw in him. Him spending another four or five weeks in the group gave us a better understanding of where he’s at and what he’s got to get to. He’s had an excellent Super season. He’s played really well for Canterbury. Obviously, got a cameo off the bench last week.

“And so yeah, it’s tough on him; Emoni’s a good player, but he’s got pretty clear messages around the couple of shifts that we want to see, and you know he’d be the next cab off the rank if we got an injury.”