Northern | US

Mark Telea stood down for quarter-final after breaching All Blacks ‘protocol’

Mark Telea of the All Blacks looks on during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between France and New Zealand at Stade de France on September 08, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Comments
13 Comments

In a major blow for the All Blacks ahead of their highly anticipated quarter-final with Ireland on Saturday, wing Mark Telea has been stood down for breaching team “protocol.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Telea was a shining light for the All Blacks on a tough night against France in the tournament opener last month, and has generally been quite solid on the left edge for Ian Foster’s team.

But two days out from New Zealand’s biggest Test in four years, Foster confirmed that the speedy outside back has been dropped for disciplinary reasons.

Related

Video Spacer

The Big Jim Show Live – RWC Semi Finals

Join Big Jim & special guests for the special live shows before and after each Semi Final live on Rugbypass TV

Watch Free

Video Spacer

The Big Jim Show Live – RWC Semi Finals

Join Big Jim & special guests for the special live shows before and after each Semi Final live on Rugbypass TV

Watch Free

“Yeah, he breached the protocol. Nothing major but enough to keep him out of selection for this week. He has trained well, happens,” Foster told reporters on Thursday.

“It is what it is. For us, it’s pretty clean cut. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We have dealt with it as a team and moved on.

“We believe in what we stand for and that speaks volumes for the team that we make that sort of decision in this sort of week.”

Leicester Fainga’anuku will run out onto Stade de France with the No. 11 on his back. The utility will be full of confidence after scoring a headline-grabbing hat-trick against Uruguay a week ago

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins
2
Draws
0
Wins
3
Average Points scored
21
22
First try wins
60%
Home team wins
0%

ADVERTISEMENT

The other intriguing decision made by coach Foster is naming Finlay Christie on the bench ahead of rising star Cam Roigard. Roigard earned Player of the Match honours against Namibia but had an off night in the All Blacks’ final pool match.

“We just felt it was horses for courses for this particular game,” Foster continued.

“We think Finlay has an edge defensively. I think there will be a lot of action around the ruck defensively. We have been delighted with Cam’s form and in a different type of game, it might have gone slightly differently. But this one here we have gone for that.”

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

13 Comments
Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Close

Planned Maintenance Notice – Log-in

We’ll be carrying out essential maintenance on our login service today. During this time, users will be unable to log in to rugbypass.com, rugbypass.tv and the RugbyPass app.

Date: Wednesday 6 May 2026

Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm (GMT)

We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we make these improvements.

Thanks,
RugbyPass Team

Copied to clipboard

Share Article close