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Hoskins Sotutu named in 29-man All Blacks XV squad

Hoskins Sotutu. (Photo by Steve McArthur/Photosport)

New Zealand’s best of the rest have been named for their two-match tour of Europe in November, revealing who’s next in line for All Blacks duties in the eyes of Scott Robertson and his selectors.

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Most notably, Super Rugby Pacific MVP Hoskins Sotutu has been named in the squad after missing selection for the All Blacks. He is joined by nine other capped All Blacks.

All Blacks XV coach Clayton McMillan and his assistants – Cory Jane, Jamie Mackintosh and David Hill – were also involved in the selection process.

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“Congratulations to those selected, this is a special moment for the players and their whanau to represent their country,” he said.

“Every player will be looking to put their best foot forward in what will be two intense matches up north, in front of passionate fans. It’s great to have a mix of experience and emerging talent, with players rewarded for solid Super Rugby Pacific and provincial seasons.”

Scott Robertson revealed on Monday there will be a handful of All Blacks XV players present with the All Blacks squad in Japan at the end of October.

“I am really pleased with the mix of this squad, having players with All Blacks experience alongside emerging talent is important,” Robertson said.

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“As an All Black coaching group, we are excited to see these players perform in a Northern Hemisphere environment, to test themselves against different playing styles and build cohesion quickly within the team. With both teams in the Northern Hemisphere at the same time, it’s a great chance for the talent who have worked so hard to be given this opportunity to gain experience and express themselves on the international stage.”

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It’s expected the All Blacks will send some fringe players to the All Blacks XV squad for game time across their two matches, explaining why the XV squad boasts just 29 players.

The team will play Munster on November 3rd at Thomond Park Limerick, Ireland, and Georgia on November 11 at GGL Stadium, Montpellier, France.

All Blacks XV squad

Props

Xavier Numia (25 / Hurricanes / Wellington)
George Dyer (24/ Chiefs / Waikato)
Saula Ma’u (24 / Highlanders / Otago)
Marcel Renata (30 / Blues / Auckland)
George Bower (32 / Crusaders / Otago)*

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Hookers 
Brodie McAlister (27 / Crusaders / Canterbury)
Kurt Eklund (32 / Blues / Bay of Plenty)
Bradley Slater (26 / Chiefs / Taranaki)

Locks 
Josh Lord (23 / Chiefs / Taranaki)*
Fabian Holland (21 / Highlanders / Otago)
Isaia Walker-Leawere (27 / Hurricanes / Hawke’s Bay)
Naitoa Ah Kuoi (25 / Chiefs / Bay of Plenty)

Loose Forwards 
Du’Plessis Kirifi (27 / Hurricanes / Wellington)
Peter Lakai (21/ Hurricanes / Wellington)
Hoskins Sotutu (26 / Blues / Counties Manukau)*
Oliver Haig (22 / Highlanders / Otago)
Christian Lio-Willie (26 / Crusaders / Otago)

Backs (12)

Halfbacks
Noah Hotham (21 / Crusaders / Tasman)*
Finlay Christie (29 / Blues / Tasman)*

First five-eighths
Harry Plummer (26 / Blues / Auckland)*
Josh Jacomb (23 / Chiefs / Taranaki)

Mid-fielders
Quinn Tupaea (25 / Chiefs / Waikato)*
Riley Higgins (22 / Hurricanes / Wellington)
AJ Lam (26 / Blues / Auckland)
Dallas McLeod (25 / Crusaders / Canterbury)*

Outside Backs 
Kiniviliame Naholo (25 / Hurricanes / Taranaki)
Emoni Narawa (25 / Chiefs / Bay of Plenty)*
Chay Fihaki (23 / Crusaders / Canterbury)
Shaun Stevenson (27 / Chiefs / North Harbour)*

* Denotes capped All Black.

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Comments

19 Comments
B
BH 177 days ago

Feel sorry for Riccitelli, Iose and Sangster who have been standouts in Super Rugby and NPC this year.


I dunno what McAlister and Slater have done better than Ricky but they're nowhere near as good as Riccitelli has been. Slater's even been playing in the back row for Taranaki.


Iose has a huge amount of speed and x-factor. Has Haig been better than him? I don't think so at all.


And Sangster is a big body that has been smashing into rucks, leading well at lineouts and getting around the park very well for the Canes and Steamers.

D
DC 178 days ago

i think given how loses npc team played he didntreally deserve selectionand i thought kirifi playeda test in australia either against argentina or australia a couple of years ago under foster

N
Nickers 178 days ago

Riccitelli and Iose must be wondering how well they have to play.

M
MQ 178 days ago

Good to see Hoskins selected-really feel for him after the super season he has just had

I
Icefarrow 178 days ago

I don't. His work-rate round the breakdown is still lackluster, and he chose to involve himself in Akira Ioane's childish attack on Sititi earlier this year. Just desserts really.

M
MattJH 178 days ago

I would’ve had the mother fakatava in instead of Christie, Daniel Rona instead of McLeod, and probably that young as Otago fullback or anyone really instead of chay fihaki.

Hope Stevenson carves up.

I
Icefarrow 178 days ago

Fihaki played well in the Barbarians/ Fiji game earlier this year. Leads me to believe his current issues may be more down to coaching than form.

G
GM 178 days ago

You could argue the toss about a few selections but overall this is encouraging - so pleased for the likes of Sotutu and Stevenson, that they haven't been forgotten, and that Holland is now eligible and they can start getting him ready for tests. Interesting that the mid-fielders named seem to be predominantly 12s, meaning Narawa could get a run at centre. Munster and Georgia will really put the heat on those front-rowers, but maybe they'll be reinforced from the ABs...

T
Tk 177 days ago

I think that Proctor will play one of the ABXV games at 13

I
Icefarrow 178 days ago

Narawa is not a centre. Him playing centre in the NPC is less due to him suiting the position, and more due to the lack of ability of others in the team.

J
JW 178 days ago

Congratulations to those selected. Commiserations to those that weren't. The margins between making it or not at this next bracket down get smaller and smaller. Anyone can turn things around with another good season.


Obviously a lot of talent don't get to go but stoked for Stevenson that he's been rewarded with another opportunity to impress. Theres some powerful ball runners for Hoskins to pair up with their I hope he can set them alight.

C
Cheers 178 days ago

Exciting talent up and coming. Us arm chair coaches can't have it all our own way. would liked have seen Pledger, Millar, Mathis and Iose added. Even Tyrone Thompson can only assume he may have signed a leauge contract. but hey they are still fairly young just the experience would have been good for them

F
Forward pass 178 days ago

IOSE.... Not LOSE

J
JW 178 days ago

Isn't Mathis still 17?


More games and a bigger squad would have been 🤌

J
JWH 178 days ago

This is the future. It looks good. Can't say the same for some other teams (South Africa in particular) who have aging squads and not very many replacements for them.

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NB 41 minutes ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

https://www.london.edu/think/how-claudio-ranieri-transformed-leicester-city


He jts knew how to use that deep well of knowledge accumulate over many years of management. A true Moneyball story!

167 Go to comments
f
fl 48 minutes ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Two comparable achievements 15 years apart (at different clubs in different leagues) represent failure and not continued success for an elite level coach/manager? Not even a hint of consistency? Just gradual, inevitable decline? And all because he is in his sixth decade?”

Why don’t you try reading what I wrote before you start inventing a load of other random things that I didn’t say. I said “Pep hasn’t gotten better with age”. He hasn’t. I don’t think he’s got much worse, and yeah, he’s been fairly consistent over his career and has had more success than almost any other coach. But he hasn’t gotten better.


“You’ve missed that Mourinho’s early start in football was as a translator for Bobby Robson (ironically a much older manager at the time!).”

I was actually aware of that. I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t relevant to the fact that Mourinho - aged 52 - had more experience than Arteta does at 43. It also isn’t ironic that Bobby Robson was a much older manager at the time - it actually confirms by point that a lot of the top football managers used to be older than they are today.


“You suggested that Les Kiss would not be suited to an international coaching role because of his age profile…that seemed to relate to rugby”

That did relate to rugby. Let me walk you through the thread…


NB suggested that Les Kiss should become Australia head coach in 2027.

I said: “Given the drop off so many top coaches seem to experience as they get older (e.g. Jones, Gatland) Kiss could be a riskier appointment than you’d think!”

NB said: “Drawing a parallel with the NFL and NBA, plenty of coaches stay well into their 70’s”

I said: “Not all sports are going the same way though” then gave the example of football.


The example of football was introduced in order to make the point that the age profile of managers is not the same in every sport. If you had read the thread you were replying to you would know this!

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