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Why Leicester Fainga'anuku could be the man to replace Ngani Laumape in the All Blacks midfield
Ngani Laumape’s defection to Top 14 side Stade Francais has been some time coming as the All Blacks midfielder has been the subject of much speculation regarding a move to Paris in recent weeks.
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That deal was confirmed on Monday when it was announced the 15-test All Black would leave the Hurricanes to move to the French capital at the end of the upcoming Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition.
The 28-year-old’s imminent departure robs New Zealand of the country’s best ball-carrying midfield option as the former NRL wing has made a name for himself as a devastating runner with ball in hand since coming to rugby union in 2016.
Few, if any, players across the country have the same ability to crash over the advantage line with such powerful impact as Laumape, meaning All Black head coach Ian Foster has a job on his hands to unearth a suitable replacement in the national side.
The rise of Crusaders starlet Leicester Fainga’anuku might make that task somewhat easier, though.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a coming-of-age campaign with the Crusaders this year, starting regularly both on the wing and at centre in the absence of injured All Blacks pair Jack Goodhue and George Bridge.
Standing at 1.88m and 109kg, Fainga’anuku is a real power-based athlete and has showed his physical prowess at various levels of the game in New Zealand, whether it be as a schoolboy, a national U20 representative, in the NPC or in Super Rugby.
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It wasn’t until this season, however, that the Tongan-born utility began to really flourish for the Crusaders, and his performance for the Christchurch-based franchise in last weekend’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final illustrated his value as a ball-carrying centre.
Time and time again, Fainga’anuku asked questions of the Chiefs’ defence as he made himself a handful as a crash ball runner, a role that enabled the Crusaders to constantly sneak over the gain line and get his side on the front foot while on attack.
Those traits are not too dissimilar to that of Laumape, and it’s for that reason that Fainga’anuku could stand as a like-for-like replacement for the French-bound powerhouse within the All Blacks squad from this year onwards.
That was the sentiment suggested by former All Blacks and Blues hooker James Parsons, who spoke in awe of Fainga’anuku on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
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Parsons said Fainga’anuku’s threat as a ball carrier was a key reason why Crusaders fullback Will Jordan scored in the 16th minute of last Saturday’s final.
He noted that although the try was set up by a well-executed grubber kick by second-five David Havili, it was the power running of Fainga’anuku that put the Chiefs on the back foot defensively to thrust Havili and Jordan into a good attacking position.
Ngani Laumape is heading to France and the #AllBlacks are now short of a true power option in the midfield. Unless, of course, they forge ahead with the man who’s had a breakout season with @CrusadersRugby. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #CRUvCHI
?? @TomVinicombehttps://t.co/jFJ1DwW0kR
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) May 11, 2021
“Ngani’s probably the best at it [power running], but the other night, when he [Fainga’anuku] hits it, it’s tough to stop,” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“If you look at the try that creates it, it’s that big strong carry and a good ball out the back, quick hands from Richie [Mo’unga] and a grubber and a good chase.
“It all starts from getting in behind from that good, strong carry from Leicester, so you’re right, it’s a big factor. Even if you know it’s coming, it’s still hard to stop.”
Parsons added that Fainga’anuku’s quality isn’t restricted to just the attacking side of his game, as he has shown on occasion that he is capable of stopping big men, like himself, in their tracks when needed.
“The other aspect of it is he’s pretty good at stopping players that are good at getting gain line. Defensively, he’s not afraid of putting his body in front and driving some other big boys backwards.”
Furthermore, Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that Fainga’anuku may also pique the All Blacks’ interest due to his ability to cover multiple positions, a valued trait within the national squad.
“I think for the All Blacks, we talk around the selection issues, and with Leicester, he’s a winger, but being able to play this kind of footy as a centre, it puts him in that kind of utility role where he could be selected because he can play both positions as well.”
With Goodhue out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury, Fainga’anuku is expected to play a vital role in the remainder of the Crusaders’ season, which continues this Saturday when they host the Brumbies in Christchurch.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments