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The winners and losers from Ian Foster's first-ever All Blacks squad announcement
By Alex McLeod
It's come about three months later that originally anticipated thanks to the disruption COVID-19 has caused, but new All Blacks coach Ian Foster was finally able to name his first All Blacks squad on Sunday.
The unveiling of the squad was met with much anticipation, with punters eager to see who from the highly successful Super Rugby Aotearoa stood out enough to warrant inclusion for a yet-to-be-confirmed test schedule.
With seven players named in the All Blacks for the first time, and a handful of others who have been omitted or were unlucky to miss out, here are some winners and losers from Foster's 35-man squad.
Winners:
Akira Ioane
Arguably the biggest 'winner' from the newly-announced squad. After years of showing a multitude of potential but failing to fully deliver, it seemed his All Blacks prospects were over when ex-head coach Steve Hansen publicly grilled him for being too lazy last year.
However, Ioane has taken that criticism and used it to adjust his mindset and improve his defence, work rate and ability at the breakdown.
All of that culminated in a standout Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign with the Blues, and the 25-year-old has deservedly won his first All Blacks call-up since 2017.
Alex Hodgman
Few would have expected loosehead prop Alex Hodgman to earn All Blacks selection this season, with the former New Zealand and Fiji U20 representative hardly setting the world alight since making his professional debut for Canterbury in 2014.
That changed this year, though, as he shone as part of a vastly improved Blues forward pack through his defensive work ethic and strong scrummaging to win national honours for the first time at the age of 27.
Tupou Vaa'i
The biggest bolter in Foster's squad, Tupou Vaa'i didn't even have a full-time Super Rugby contract at the beginning of the year.
In fact, he hadn't even made his Chiefs debut until Super Rugby Aotearoa kicked-off in June.
It's taken just under three months for the All Blacks selectors to deem him worthy of a call-up, though.
With Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett and uncapped prospect Pari Pari Parkinson unavailable, New Zealand's depth at lock has been exposed, but the selection of 20-year-old Vaa'i - who should become the first All Black born in the new millennium - looms as a long-term fix to that predicament.
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Latest Comments
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
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