The time for specialist No.7s has come to an end

Teams from across the world are now naming their international squads ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship, which will take place in July across the southern hemisphere.

The Championship is comprised of the six best teams from the northern hemisphere and the six best sides from the southern hemisphere.

In typical rugby fashion, there is a level of complexity here, with Japan, a northern hemisphere country, being counted as the sixth southern hemisphere side. Confusing, right?

However, despite this slight bit of latitudinal complexity, the announcement of squads from all these teams is hugely exciting, and it means we are now truly in tournament preparation mode, with the tournament to get underway in less than 10 days.

The composition of sides can often clue you in on how the game is being played and where the trends are heading.

Now that a majority of the touring squads have been named, it has become clear that the role of the openside flanker, who wears the No.7 on their back in most countries, is not necessarily a specialist position anymore, as it was up until three years ago.

This shift is mirroring a change in the way the game of rugby is being played, and in how games are being won. 

It has been surmised in many publications that attacking rugby is now making its return to the fore, and it is hard to argue with this when looking at who is winning club competitions around the world.

Thrashings occurred in the URC and Super Rugby Pacific finals, with attacking rugby winning out big time.

In the English Prem, the winners, Northampton Saints, boast the most exciting attack structure in the comp, and Kobe in Japan was just an all-out demolition crew with Ardie Savea and Brodie Retallick leading the charge under new All Blacks coach, Dave Rennie.

In France, Bordeaux-Bègles won the Champions Cup with their attacking flair, and Toulouse looks set to do the same with their immense attacking firepower in the Top 14.

However, they will have to outscore a wildly exciting, yet perhaps overachieving Montpellier in the French domestic final to do so.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

71 - 17

31 - 20

39 - 31

38 - 10

27 - 51

25 - 15

25 - 28

26 - 18

59 - 26

33 - 36

3

Wins

5

1

Streak

5

27

Tries Scored

20

47

Points Difference

57

3/5

First Try

2/5

2/5

First Points

2/5

2/5

Race To 10 Points

4/5

In order to play attacking rugby, you need front-foot ball, you need defensive pressure, and a steady set-piece in order to feed your momentum and opportunities.

This all starts with a well-drilled, abrasive forward pack, and that requires powerful, large forwards, and this is where a specialist No.7, who tends to be a smaller and more mobile build, doesn’t quite fit the mould of a modern side.

Carrying a player whose standout attribute is pilfering at the breakdown and relying on that player to be the sole source of turnovers at the ruck is not only risky but also puts too much pressure on the team’s defensive systems.

Such a selection at No.7 can now be seen as a defensive pick, rather than one that aids your attack.

Although turnovers can be seen as a way to generate spontaneous attacking opportunities from jackals, in Test rugby, there are too few clean steals that allow for counterattack for a coach to make that sort of selection.

In other words, this is too narrow a skillset alone for coaches to then lay their eggs in that basket when it comes to selection time.

The heydays where legendary jackalers like the David Pococks, Richie McCaws, Heinrich Brussows, Sam Warburtons, George Smiths, and Michael Hoopers ruled the roost are now done.

That lone skillset was suited to a time when the breakdown was a brutal, chaotic mess.

Now, in the modern game, the breakdown is officiated differently, sealers and cleaners are much better structured, and defences are much better prepared for any potential turnover, particularly at the Test level.

All these factors work against choosing a No.7 with the unique and foremost ability to jackal the ball.

To put this into perspective, if we look back at the Test season of 2025, the top five pilfer-merchants in the world were Fraser McReight from Australia with a whopping 24, Italy’s Manuel Zuliani in a distant second with 14, and England Captain Maro Itoje, Argentinian enforcer Pablo Matera, and the All Blacks’ Ardie Savea, all with 11 in tied-third.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation, and there is no doubt that McReight’s and Zuliani’s many pilfers made huge differences to the points differentials of their respective sides.

However, in the 2026 Six Nations series, the top five turnover merchants were second rowers Tadhg Beirne (7) and Itoje (6), No.7 Rory Darge (6), Tommaso Menoncello at inside centre (4), and backrower James Botham (3). 

Of the top 10 jacklers in the series, only two were specialist No.7s, two were second rowers, one inside centre, one prop, and four No.8s/No.6s.

This is all to say that although the skill of pilfering is still one of great value, it is less and less the sole responsibility of the No.7, and those clutch steals are now being executed by plenty of players throughout the teamsheet.

While players like Savea, Matera, and England’s superstar Henry Pollock are all at home in the No.7 jersey, they are not being chosen in that jersey specifically because they are the side’s sole turnover-merchant.

Savea has his incredible leg-drive and tireless work rate, Matera is a physical enforcer and runs amazing support lines, while Pollock also has a motor that goes all day and is so far indestructible in the tough stuff.

They have all had clutch pilfer moments, Savea countless times against the Wallabies, Matera against the All Blacks, and Pollock for Saints and the British and Irish Lions; however, it is not what they are solely recognised for.

Their running games, their staunchness in defence, and attacking prowess are what people are starting to connotate these great players with.

If you look across each of their respective Test sides, there are plenty of other pilfer threats that diversify and imbue their team’s defensive ruck with potency.

Pollock usually has Ben Earl, one of the Curry twins, or Sam Underhill in the backrow as well as Itoje at lock.

Savea has at times sat alongside a Codie Taylor, Quinn Tupaea, Peter Lakai, and, previously, a Sam Whitelock.

Matera is often seen on a teamsheet alongside a Juan Martin Gonzalez, Julian Montoya, Franco Molina, or previously an Agustin Creevy.

The pilfer is no longer a skill that belongs to one part of the team, let alone one position, and to select one’s team as such is no longer an obvious choice.

The game now demands everyone to have diverse skillsets, and with attacking rugby being front of mind, you want to make sure that you have as many dynamic ball carriers and blokes who will be brutal at the clean out as you can.

This is because, unless you can score points when you get down into the A-zone, all the heroics in your own D-and-C-zones will do you little good.

The time for multi-skilled, elite-performing No.7s is here, and it will see attacking sides further flourish in the Test arena, as they have at the club level over the last couple of years.