Blues halfback and 23-Test All Black Finlay Christie has been thrown into the discussion for national selection, ahead of the home France series by three former All Blacks, who all picked Christie in their 35-man squad that they would pick in just under three weeks time.
Christie has been on the outside of All Blacks selection since the home Test series against England, where he featured in both victories on home soil, starting in the second Test match.
As the 2024 International season progressed, Scott Robertson chose Noah Hotham, the departing TJ Perenara, Cortez Ratima and Cameron Roigard over Christie, with perhaps an eye for the future.
Former All Black and current Sky Sports commentator Stephen Donald explains that he doesn’t just have Christie in his squad due to his performance against the Waratahs, but believes his performances of late warrant a discussion going forward.
“Well, it’s not just because he was very good last night, but Finlay Christie for me, we’ve got a lot of young halfbacks who are all very explosive, great defensively,” Donald told The Breakdown on Sky Sport.
“But for me, I love what Finlay brings, he’s different to pretty much every other halfback in the country, very experienced, great defender, smart kicker, and also just knows how to deal with tempo.”
Donald believes that Christie would be best used in big Test matches, to close out the game rather than a younger halfback.
“You watch him controlling rucks, and you just sort of feel in these big Test matches, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to lean on a Finlay Christie, compared to throwing in another youngster?
“Because remember, Cortez Ratima is coming into the second year, Cameron Roigard has been around a bit longer, but I really like what Finlay can bring to the All Blacks team, and to be fair, I think if the Blues are going to go deep in this competition, his partnership with his man outside him, Beauden Barrett, is going to be pretty big.“
101-Test former All Black Mils Muliaina also backs Christie to be involved in the All Blacks in 2025, as he brings a “hard edge” on the defensive side of the ball.
“14 weeks ago, you wouldn’t have said that, right? This is what I love about guys that are that are sort of stepping up. He was out of form, the whole team in itself were out of form.
“They didn’t quite know sort of what the style they wanted to play, but when you put big-time players in big moments and pressure moments. It’s almost getting to that sort of stage where you’re looking at Test matches, and guys start to step up.
“I like what Finlay sort of brings, he brings a little bit of a hard edge about him defensively, he’s pretty sound too.”
Current Sky Sports commentator and rugby analyst Jeff Wilson is still confused about what happened with Christie in the All Blacks squad in 2024, but likes Christie as an “insurance” option for Robertson.
“I’ve picked him, but the interesting part is, I don’t know what happened last year, because he fell out of favour. All of a sudden, after the middle of the year, he got sent back to the Bunnings NPC competition and was playing for Tasman and was playing really well.
“So clearly, they’ve seen something in the environment, they went in a different direction with Noah Hotham and what I’ve seen of Noah this year, it’s not as good as it was last year in terms of his impact.
“So I think the halfback pick is a really interesting philosophical discussion you must have if you start thinking to the future or the here and the now. I like the here and the now, I like winning Test matches now and Finlay Christie is a great insurance option for me in terms of the position.”
