'They probably would have known': Solace for some dropped All Blacks

For every success story that comes out of an All Blacks squad announcement, there are inevitably two or three players left feeling disappointed at the fact they’ve either missed out on a first-time call-up or, worse still, have been dropped from the squad.

That was certainly the case in Christchurch on Monday afternoon, where Leicester Fainga’anuku had the good fortune to hear his name read out by New Zealand Rugby board director Bailey Mackie while surrounded by his Crusaders teammates – but there were inevitably a few downcast figures amongst the group too.

Cullen Grace, an All Blacks debutant in 2020, has hit a rich vein of form with the Crusaders in recent times but evidently has not yet done enough to force his way back into the squad while backline merchants Braydon Ennor and George Bridge both featured for the national side last season but haven’t been able to hold their places in the team ahead of the coming July series with Ireland.

Reacting to the first All Blacks squad of the season.

Reacting to the first All Blacks squad of the season.

For halfback Bryn Hall, it was a new experience being in camp with his Super Rugby side at the same time as the All Blacks squad announcement and he was able to experience both the highs and the lows of the event.

“It’s probably the best time of the year for a lot of those men that were selected,” said Hall on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod. “It was a great moment to be able to watch the team naming in the squad – [it was] probably the first time an All Blacks team has been named during Super Rugby and being able to see faces like that and being able to celebrate moments like that, it was awesome.

“It’s a unique situation, to be honest, because you’re so happy for guys that are deserving of that spot but then you’ve also got to cater for the boys that are disappointed. You do celebrate and it’s an acknowledgement and a clap [while] we’re all watching it together on the TV. You obviously acknowledge when they are selected but then also have a pretty good understanding that some boys will be disappointed and it’s also getting around them.”

Fellow ARP panellist James Parsons, who earned two caps for the All Blacks in 2014 and 2016, said that while it would have been a tough time for the men who missed out on the squad, they at least would have been able to brace themselves for the public announcement.

“Having had a little bit of experience in being dropped myself, you get a phone call a little bit earlier than the announcement so they probably would have known and would have had the ability to prepare themselves for any new caps,” the former Blues hooker said.

And while there are inevitably players from around the country who will be feeling disappointed following the squad naming, Hall noted that at least the Blues and Crusaders players have an opportunity to prove the selectors wrong when they take the field on Saturday night at Eden Park for the Super Rugby Pacific final.

“Those boys did really well, I thought there were a couple of guys that could have been in and around there but obviously didn’t make it but they had their chins right up,” he said of the unlucky men, “and I guess the best thing is that they’re able to go out and play in a final and be able to get over that disappointment and look forward to … a pretty massive occasion in Auckland.”

Six new caps have been named in the All Blacks’ first squad of the year, Aidan Ross, Pita Gus Sowakula, Folau Fakatava, Stephen Perofeta, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Leicester Fainga’anuku, while eight players who featured throughout 2021 have not made the cut, as well as a number of injured or unavailable men such as Joe Moody and Damian McKenzie.