Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Shaun Stevenson's All Blacks XV omission fuels NRL rumours

Shaun Stevenson breaks the game open against Ireland. Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Chiefs and North Harbour outside back Shaun Stevenson has been one of New Zealand’s premier talents in recent seasons, therefore his omission from the All Blacks XV has sparked conversation and speculation around his playing future.

ADVERTISEMENT

Stevenson joined the Chiefs in 2016 and has since provided a wealth of highlight plays regardless of where coaches have played him, as well as developing his all-round game to contribute well defensively and utilise his huge kicking game well territorially.

Stevenson’s play for the Maori All Blacks against Ireland during this years July series was the big amplifier in discussions around his test-level potential.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

Ex-All Black Jeff Wilson shared what rumours he’d heard around Stevenson’s plans for the future on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.

“Well look if you went on form,” Wilson said. “And not just form through Super Rugby when he came back from injury, and then he played for the Maori All Blacks and then played for North Harbour… I’m just telling you his credentials for the fact that I’m hearing he’s not part of this squad going forward because he’s pending a move to Rugby League and the NRL.

“When you start hearing these things, and I’ve heard it from multiple sources, you start going here’s a guy who maybe looked at his future and said ‘you know what, if I’m not part of the best…’ Can you blame him?

“He’s a wonderful talent.”

Related

The NRL’s expansion franchise, the Redcliffe Dolphins are the rumoured recipients of Stevenson’s interest, with reports claiming they team were looking to rugby union for some playmaking talent to compliment their physical pack.

ADVERTISEMENT

When the All Blacks XV team was announced last Monday, Stevenson’s absence was the first that many fans questioned.

Furthering the confusion was the selection of just three outside backs in a 28 man squad, Ian Foster would later enlighten the public to his plans for several young All Blacks players to feature for the XV side, hence the smaller team.

Fans will still await confirmation of which came first – Stevenson’s omission from the All Blacks development team or his suspected switch of codes.

Former Black Ferns midfielder Chelsea Semple was in agreement that Stevenson had made as compelling a case for higher honours as could be expected.

ADVERTISEMENT

“What more can he do to get in at least the All Blacks XV?” she said.

“So, he’s thinking ‘where else is there an opportunity for me to shine?'”

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

S
SK 1 hour ago
Brumbies backed to rebound despite more semi-final heartbreak

“Look, they’ve lost some good players. Len Ikitau’s had an excellent season. Tom Hooper’s been magnificent all year. So there are a couple of big players that they are losing.

“Noah Lolesio obviously has been guiding the team around for years, and he’s another one, but they’ve been able to give guys really good game time this year.

The loss of star players is a real problem. The Brumbies will have to cover those losses next season and while there is some real promising players to come through the ranks the problem is these guys are experienced and have real quality which will be difficult to replace. The Brumbies will struggle to build if they cant retain their stars. As much as I would love to say that the Brumbies can take the next step up I have some doubts. For my mind if Australian rugby is to emerge with a Super Rugby winner they need to heavily resource one team as Ireland do with Leinster. They need to load 14 or 15 internationals into a side and give them money to bring in some talented overseas stars as well. Australian Rugby needs a Super Rugby winner. It cannot keep going through this cycle of subpar Super Rugby performances in which they get 2 playoff teams and 1 semi finalist every season while never taking the next step. It needs to host a Super Rugby final again. It needs to rebuild interest in the game at home and compete with the other codes and it can only do that with wins. We thought the Aussie teams could break the mould this season and release the grip of NZ on the Super Rugby title. It was promising for a while but in the end the result was the same.

5 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Downcast Brumbies coach Larkham's final warning for the Chiefs Larkham's final warning for the Chiefs
Search