In just four weeks time, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson will name his first squad of 2025, ahead of the highly-anticipated home series against France in early July.
The loose forward selections for the All Blacks are always a talking point, and last year’s first squad featured one Wallace Sititi, who went on to win World Rugby’s Breakthrough Men’s 15s Player of the Year after a superb debut season.
This year’s opening squad of the year is no different and offers even more headaches for Robertson, who won’t be able to call on All-Black centurion Sam Cane in his squad.
Former All Black Jeff Wilson believes that one player in Super Rugby Pacific has been often ‘underappreciated‘ and should be in with a shout to be in and around the All Blacks playing 23.
“I‘m going to talk about a player who I think has been a big part of the All Blacks for several years now, and he played 10 games last year. He started in four of them, and he came off the bench in six,” Wilson said on The Breakdown.
“It’s Dalton Papali’i for me, I look at his game and it’s probably more suited to the international game than it is to Super Rugby in terms of the way that they played last year, he was a huge part of the Blues success.
“He’s a physical player who’s put on size to combat the likes of France and England and South Africa. That’s what he’s done, but I really like what he’s done in the last month and a half of Super Rugby.
“I think he’s a player that’s in a highly contested spot, the fact that the way that he plays is a little bit like same Sam Cane, a little bit underappreciated.”
Wilson admits that Robertson has many options in the loose forward department, many of which are also having solid individual seasons in Super Rugby Pacific.
“So for him, he now has to prove that his role, whether it’s as a seven, whether it’s a six, he has to prove it’s better than some young players who have put their hand up and there’s a couple coming out of Wellington.
“There’s a couple of clearly down in Hamilton as well, have put up their hand. He has to find a way to show what he can do differently, and it’ll be nice for the Blues to get another opportunity.
“A couple of big performances and a couple of big games could come in handy because I think there’s some quality against the big teams that he has brought in the past.
Former All Black and current Sky Sports commentator Stephen Donald agrees with Wilson on Papali’i for the All Blacks, especially against the top and most physical nations.
“The international game and Jeff mentioned the Springboks, the English, the French, that’s where it gets interesting with someone like Dalton because he is a big body,” Donald said.
“If the All Blacks are obsessed about maybe going big against the Springboks or France, then he’s an obvious one.”
100-Test former All Black Mils Muliaina strongly believes that Hurricanes loose forward Peter Lakai could be the option for Robertson at No.8.
“I think right now for me it’s Peter Lakai, it’s his opportunity to really sort of stand out and I think he’s an eight. I think he’d be my eight when you sort of go into the mix, you have Ardie at seven,” Muliaina said on The Breakdown.
“Don’t forget, Lakai started in Japan, and in that game, when he came on in the first few minutes against the French and played seven, he’s explosive, makes good decisions.
“He can get over the ball, he can he can jump, if Sititi doesn’t want to jump, he can jump as well. But I think he’s a raw talent and explosive.”
Donald is happy to lock Lakai into a starting 23 place and feels like the Hurricanes loose forward hasn’t been talked about enough.
“I think Peter Lakai has probably been a victim of the Ardie season, because I think he’s been a little bit sort of slept on, as far as the Hurricanes have been mid-table, he’s been outstanding all year.
“For me, on a game day 23, he is an obvious one.”
