Dave Rennie has shared how close the NPC star, Kyren Taumoefolau, was to All Blacks selection for the upcoming Rugby Nations Championship tour of the Northern Hemisphere in November.
The winger was incredible, scoring 19 tries in 11 starts for Tasman, and also led the way in the tournament for clean breaks, defenders beaten, and metres gained with the ball in hand.
Rennie’s comments, as reported by RugbyPass, came as he announced his squad ahead of the fixtures against Scotland, Wales, England and a final round game at Twickenham.
Taumoefolau made his international debut for Tonga, playing six times in 2023. He decided to no longer play for Tonga and became eligible for the All Blacks in October of this year after a three-year period without playing for Tonga.
What did Rennie say about the Tasman winger?
Rennie was asked directly about Taumoefolau’s omission and he said, “Yeah, look, he came up in discussions. Obviously, he scored a lot of tries and had a good Super season as well. I think he’s got a few areas to focus on, especially defensively. And so his job will be to have a really big Super season next year, like a lot of other guys, to apply a bit of pressure. But yeah, we’ve got some pretty good outside backs at the moment.”
The All Blacks head coach was also questioned about Narawa missing out, and he shared this insight on his winger selections;
“We ended up deciding to take Chay (Fihaki); we liked what we saw in him. Him spending another four or five weeks in the group gave us a better understanding of where he’s at and what he’s got to get to. He’s had an excellent Super season. He’s played really well for Canterbury. Obviously, got a cameo off the bench last week.
The wingers chosen in the squad
Emoni Narawa was also excluded from the squad alongside Kyren Taumoefolau. With Leroy Carter and Caleb Clarke injured, Rennie has gone for Will Jordan, Josh Moorby, Fehi Fineanganofo, Reiko Ioane and Chay Fihaki in his squad for the tournament.
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