LONG READ Why ‘generational talent’ Peter Lakai is the new ‘man in black’ for all seasons

He can hurdle from bridges on to the top of double-decker buses, and climb tall buildings in the blink of an eye. In the 1997 Hollywood sci-fi movie saga Men in Black, a young detective played by Will Smith draws the attention of veteran agent Tommy Lee Jones by chasing down a fast-moving alien in human disguise. By the time he pulls on the eponymous black suit, he can say with some justification, ‘the difference between you and me? I make this look good.’

Were he as out-spoken as Will Smith, Hurricanes back-rower Peter Lakai could be saying the same very, very soon. He is already the best number seven in the shaky isles, and he may be the best number eight.  He is already doing the unthinkable, offering Kiwi supporters a view of life without Ardie Savea, one of the greatest back-row hybrids of the professional era.

Those New Zealand fans can contemplate ‘life without Ardie’ with some equanimity for the first time in a long, long time with the versatile Wellingtonian around the All Blacks. Among the high-quality stream of young back-row talent being churned out in New Zealand – including Anton Segner, Wallace Sititi, Lucas Casey, Oli Mathis and Semisi Ta’eiloa – the 23-year-old of mixed Ghanaian and Tongan ethnic origin stands out.

Lakai shares many of the same qualities as Savea, and he is already a bit bigger – an inch taller and five kilos heavier. The Saint Patrick’s Silverstream alumnus has graduated from the New Zealand Under 20s in 2022-23, where he became co-captain of the Junior All Blacks, to regular starter in the seniors in the space of only three years.

On the ill-fated November tour last year, he was attracting rave reviews on both sides of the ball from the main assistant to head coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson, Scott Hansen:

“Oh, this has been so pleasing, hasn’t it? He’s such a mature young man and there is a great presence around his game,” Hansen told Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport show.

“He’s a natural ‘baller’, the way he can present himself on to the ball, how he adjusts the line as a ball-carrier. He’s got some of those qualities that are un-coachable.

“He’s just a beautiful rugby player, a fantastic young man: his timing at the breakdown, his understanding [of when] and how to put pressure on the ball.”

His versatility, his athleticism – I’m going to put him in rarefied air in terms of athleticism. To me, he looks like a young Michael Jones.

Hansen and Robertson may have declined into distant memory but the rise-and-rise of Lakai has only burgeoned with the arrival of Dave Rennie. Injuries to Luke Jacobson and Ethan Blackadder may have opened the door, but Lakai has strode through it in no uncertain terms, to the point where Sky Sport NZ’s chief pundit on The Breakdown, Jeff Wilson is already touting him somewhat grandly as ‘the best number seven in the world’.

“The best openside flanker in the world is Peter Lakai,” Wilson said. “This is a generational athlete at the age of 23. By chance, by injury, he has now fallen into the openside flanker position; he has played number eight [and number six in the RGR] for the All Blacks too.

“His versatility, his athleticism – I’m going to put him in rarefied air in terms of athleticism. To me, he looks like a young Michael Jones.

“He’s got that type of range, that type of skill-set, that type of ability to track the ball, his decision-making, his physicality – this is a guy who could be in the All Blacks for the next 10 years. He is the first guy that I would write down in a team-sheet with Jordie Barrett. They’re the two guys.

“He is a generational talent, and we should be celebrating him. He is a quiet, reserved guy; he is not going to celebrate himself. That means it’s up to us in the media to tell you and show you exactly how good he is.”

‘Goldie’ may be getting a little carried away, but he is not wrong. An old Rennie favourite from his time at the Chiefs, Jacobson was picked ahead of Lakai at the beginning of the RGR series against the world champions, but by the end of that series the younger man had proved his point on both sides of the ball:

Why is Lakai a better option than Jacobson in the blue-riband position in New Zealand, the spot occupied previously by two knights of the realm in Sir Michael Jones and Sir Richie McCaw? Like those two legends, the answer lies in his ability to multi-task, and expand the notion of what the role of the open-side flanker can be.

One of the primary planks in Ireland’s 2022 tour triumph in New Zealand was the ascendancy Josh van der Flier established over Sam Cane. ‘Slammin’ Sam’ fulfilled the traditional role of a number seven in New Zealand, making tackles in defence and cleaning out endless rucks on attack, doing the unseen work. But the Leinsterman matched him in both areas while adding an extra ball-carrier on attack, running the ball anywhere between two and three times more per game than his rival.

Overnight, or at least in the space of one hot month in July, the position had grown exponentially, and planet rugby started looking for bigger, multi-faceted athletes on the open-side flank of the scrum. The latest stats for the Nations Championship reinforce the view that Lakai can do all of the spadework done by Jacobson, while adding a significant new dimension with ball in hand:

Jacobson is good, but Lakai is a lot better. The Chiefs’ man can carry ball inside, but he does not have the same power and dynamism as his rival from the Hurricanes. And when the ball is moved into the wider channels, Wellington offers far more value than the Waikato. Lakai passes and supports better than Jacobson.

Roll back the clock to the Scotland versus New Zealand fixture at Murrayfield in 2025, and Lakai was one of the main reasons the Silver Ferns hung on to beat the Saltires in a tightly-contested game. The 23-year-old led the tackle count in the game at Murrayfield with 21, winning the All Blacks two turnovers at the breakdown during his 80-minute stint on the field.

One year later he was showing his mastery of the role Van der Flier first perfected with Leinster and Ireland, playing in the acting scrum-half role from lineout. New Zealand scored the first try of the game from a set-piece with Lakai as the ‘+1’ insert playing behind the lineout:

https://t.co/Ui6JUhviZo

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) November 8, 2026

Lakai runs away from the maul with a dummy carry which persuades the entire Scotland defence on the edge of the set-piece to follow him, opening the way for his back-row colleague Wallace Sititi to score easily straight up the middle.

That play was just one of the options the All Blacks were able to explore with Lakai at acting scrum-half from lineout in the first period:

https://t.co/0ji6jonnff

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) November 8, 2026

https://t.co/VuIw4WxYSE

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) November 8, 2026

With the number seven passing from the base of the lineout instead of the nominal scrum-half, it enables Cam Roigard to shift into first receiver and widen the focus of the attack immediately, with four simple passes giving the ever-dangerous Will Jordan freedom to move down the right and bring play all the way to the Scotland goal-line on one phase of play.

The second clip is a great example of a quick-hitting drive, where the ball never reaches the grasp of hooker Codie Taylor in the third layer, even though he was credited with the score at the time. Instead, the ball stays with Lakai, with the Wellington man firing up his engine after taking the ball from Scott Barrett at the front of the line. It is another role crafted by Van der Flier with Leinster and Ireland, and Lakai’s power may just have taken it to the next level.

New Zealand’s final score of the game from lineout illustrated the young star’s versatility and handling ability to perfection:

https://t.co/Bh5OTV2eUB

— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) November 8, 2026

At this lineout Anton Segner has replaced Lakai in the ‘+1’ role, and the Hurricane hybrid runs all the way from midfield to become first receiver on the short-side, before delivering a deliciously-weighted scoring pass to his club-mate Asafo Aumua, with just the hint of a double-pump pulling in the critical defender before releasing the rampaging rake.

Lakai already looks good in black, as if the suit is made to measure. The only thing missing is the dark glasses. He can play six, seven or eight, and he could probably do a decent job at centre if needed, so he is also a man for all the hybrid seasons. If ex-All Blacks wingman Jeff Wilson is to be believed, he comes fully armed with Michael Jones-type athleticism and he is already the best open-side flanker in the world. That is high praise indeed, and it may be enough even to keep Ardie Savea out of the World Cup starting line-up in late 2027. Or the two could play together, and that would be the stuff of nightmares for opponents all across the rugby world.