Whose ship has sailed before the first All Blacks squad?

Super Rugby Pacific 2025 is down to the semi-final stage, with three New Zealand teams in the hunt for the title, alongside the Brumbies, who knocked off the Hurricanes last weekend to stop the semi-finals from being an all Kiwi lineup.

The Crusaders will take on the Blues on Friday night in Christchurch for a spot in this year’s final, but the Blues will be up against it, as the Crusaders are 30-0 in playoff encounters at home. 

The Chiefs, who are this year’s “lucky loser” after going down to the Blues last weekend in Hamilton, will host the Brumbies in Hamilton on Saturday night.

But the No.1 seed from the regular season will only host the final next week if the Blues beat the Crusaders, and if they take care of business at FMG Stadium Waikato against a strong Brumbies side.

The Monday following next weekend’s final, Scott Robertson will name his first All Blacks squad of the year, for the home series against France in early July.

Three former All Blacks have discussed what the makeup of the loose forwards may look like in Robertson’s 35-man squad, and how some players who are on the fringe may be unlucky, as they have been knocked out of this year’s competition.

Former All Black Mils Muliaina believes that it’s a disadvantage that some All Black hopefuls aren’t playing finals football, which tends to be closer to the physicality of a Test match.

“That is a disadvantage because finals football is as close as you what you’re going to get to, Test match, intensity, Test match speed, but also everything around it,” Muliaina told The Breakdown on Sky Sports.

“So you’re missing two games, I mean, you think about a guy like Ethan Blackadder, he’s missed the majority of the season, but he comes into finals football and it’s like he’s never missed it.

“He’s going to get his sort of eye time, the All Black selectors are there.”

Muliaina believes that despite the Hurricanes being knocked out, Peter Lakai should be in Robertson’s first squad.

“I like Peter Lakai too, I think he brings something a little bit different as well, I like him off the back, he can also play seven, and I think that’s what he’s got on his plate right now.

“Now, a lot of these guys can actually play multiple positions, he’s young, he’s a little bit different. You’ve got to remember his second Test was against the French. He came on at seven, he’s capable of bigger things.

Former 81-Test All Black halfback Justin Marshall explains that he still thinks the All Blacks need specialists in every position, and Crusaders No.8 Christian Lio-Willie brings that to the table for Robertson.

“We still need specialists, yes, these guys can play multiple positions, Scott Robertson has said that he likes that. But there’s nothing better than a specialist. 

“So a guy like Christian Lio-Willie absolutely has to be as an out-and-out number eight, he doesn’t play anywhere else, doesn’t play six, doesn’t play seven.

“He runs hard, he’s good off the back of the scrum, he’s got a huge work rate and he’s the joint Crusaders rugby player of the year.

“So where is Robertson going to go? Is he going to go, right, I’m going to have these players that play, three or four positions, and then I can just manipulate them around and find the best answer.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

38 - 31

35 - 20

31 - 26

31 - 26

69 - 26

19 - 45

36 - 33

47 - 40

42 - 19

40 - 15

2

Wins

4

1

Streak

3

28

Tries Scored

28

41

Points Difference

38

5/5

First Try

2/5

4/5

First Points

2/5

2/5

Race To 10 Points

3/5

When asked about the Blues loose forward duo of Hoskins Sotutu and Dalton Papali’i, Marshall believes the Blues’ style of play in 2025 has hurt their chances.

“I think they’re always in the conversation, particularly Dalton Papali’i, but unfortunately, and this is not a personal opinion, this is just I feel they are a victim of the way the Blues have been playing.

“I think the ship has sailed for both of them, because the type of game that the Blues are playing, is definitely not the type of game that the All Blacks will want to play. So then you’re not really showing a balance in your game and the lack of the ability to have really consistent rugby.

“Playing a style of game that suits your DNA hasn’t helped either one of them, Hoskins in the weekend, it was a perfect opportunity for him to roll up his sleeves and get stuck in because of the way the game unfolded, and that just played into his wheelhouse, the way the Blues wanted it to.

“But there’s no doubt about the fact that he’s not playing poorly, Dalton’s not playing poorly, but I just don’t think they fixed the mix that the All Blacks want to select.”