A winger who now plays like a loose forward
Leicester Fainga’anuku is back in the All Blacks squad for the November internationals, and Dave Rennie is not hiding what he sees in him. The coach calls the 27-year-old “definitely a hybrid”, a player who can “genuinely fill a number of spots”.
That versatility is the point. Fainga’anuku came home from Toulon earlier this year after a stint in the Top 14 that pushed him toward a different role. At Tasman he began the season in the backs, then moved to openside flanker from round 11 and stayed there until the semi-final loss to the Chiefs. He has also been used at 12 and 7 along the way. In the squad list he appears with the loose forwards.
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The injury and the minutes problem
The semi-final against the Chiefs ended badly for him. He broke his leg, which ruled him out of the July Nations Championship window and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour. Rennie admits the rebuild has been slow, with only about two halves of rugby for Tasman since. He described that game time as “less than we would have liked”.
Rennie still wants him around. “I still think it’s better to have him in the group for the next four or five weeks,” he said, adding that Fainga’anuku “will definitely feature on tour”. The coach also conceded the All Blacks would have liked him on the earlier trip to South Africa.
Two halves of provincial rugby is a thin base for a Test jersey, and the squad is already stretched by injuries. Whether the selection pays off will depend on how quickly he finds match rhythm in camp.
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