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'None of this is his fault': All Black casualty Pita Gus Sowakula looking outside-in

By Sam Smith
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

All Black rookie Pita Gus Sowakula missed the cut in the 42-man squad for The Rugby Championship after making his debut in the three-match series against Ireland.

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The Chiefs No 8, renown for his strong ball-carrying, featured off the bench in the first two tests seeing limited action as one of the loose forward reserves.

In the first test he dropped his first pass at test level before recovering to score a try on debut with his next touch, breaking off the back of a five metre scrum to power through Irish flyhalf Joey Carbery.

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In the second test the All Blacks lost starting No 8 Ardie Savea in the first half to a red card substitution and Sowakula didn’t enter the game until the 69th minute. His first touch again was another drop, after a wide cutout pass from Richie Mo’unga.

He didn’t feature in the third test as Dalton Papalii returned to the bench and the All Blacks opted to debut Roger Tuivasa-Sheck as an extra back, leaving the Fijian-born loose forward with limited opportunity to push his claims forward.

Sowakula was named the most unluckiest player to miss out on the latest All Blacks squad on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown by former All Black Jeff Wilson and former Irish international Isaac Boss.

“I feel for Pita Gus Sowakula, this isn’t his fault, none of this is his fault,” Wilson said of his omission.

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“What it is for me, is they have looked at the blindside flanker position and they have decided it is Scott Barrett or Shannon Frizell.

“That’s the body we want, that’s the lineout target, the size, the carry, the physical presence we want.

“Great to see Shannon back in there, they said he got through the body of work.”

Sowakula was touted as a No 8 and blindside option, but the return to full fitness of experienced All Black blindside Shannon Frizell seemed irresistible to Ian Foster’s selection committee.

Under pressure ahead of a critical tw0-match stretch in South Africa, Frizell gives the All Blacks a tall jumping option and previous playing experience in South Africa against the Springboks.

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“Also pleased to welcome back Shannon Frizell who, again, has a lot of experience, but interruptions the last 18 months, but really feel he’s in a good spot to come back in,” Foster said during the squad announcement press conference.

“Shannon’s just got back through a big training load, you’ll remember that he had 8-9 weeks off at Super level.

“It was really about getting him a lot fitter.”

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On the other squad omissions such as Cullen Grace and Brad Weber, Isaac Boss said it was still Sowakula who had the hardest pill to swallow after not really getting an opportunity against Ireland.

“I’d probably say Pita Gus Sowakula,” Isaac Boss said of the unluckiest candidate to miss selection.

“I thought he didn’t really get an opportunity before a chance to be dropped. You got to take that one on chin, the poor bugger.”

On whether he could force his way back into the All Black squad, the 27-year-old will return to Taranaki Bulls where Wilson predicted he would return back to some of his best form.

“We will see him again, I think he is going to tear it up now,” Wilson predicted.

“He will go into the NPC and tear it up, no doubt about it.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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