Ian Foster adds Samipeni Finau, Brad Weber for All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup preparations

As always the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup squad selection contained its share of hard-luck stories, with rising young loose forward Samipeni Finau and highly capable Chiefs halfback Brad Weber up at the top of that list.

But the unlucky omissions from the France-bound squad of 33 have been handed a lifeline of sorts, with All Blacks coach Ian Foster confirming straight after his announcement in Napier on Monday that he would carry three additions through until the start of the tournament.

Finau, Weber and Canterbury hooker George Bell would fill those roles as they cover key positions for the squad which heads to Twickenham to take on South Africa on August 26 in their last pre-World Cup hitout. They open the global tournament against France on September 8.

Finau made a mostly impressive test debut in Saturday’s 23-20 victory over the Wallabies in Dunedin, but has been squeezed out of the RWC squad by the decision to take just five loose forwards to France. Weber was also knocking loudly on the selection door at halfback, but missed out to rookie Cam Roigard’s point of difference and Finlay Christie’s solid form.

“That was always the plan,” said Foster of the decision to carry the additional trio. “We’re allowed to have extra players train with us up until we go to France, so we’ll bring Brad, Samipeni and George with us. To be fair, it would have been Asafo Aumua (at hooker) but he pulled a calf at the weekend and is out for 6-8 weeks.

“In Samipeni’s case he could potentially be involved in the South Africa game if we feel we can utilise him to manage our lock stock through to the start.”

Foster was referring there to the absence of lock Brodie Retallick through until at least the second pool game against Namibia on September 15, with some juggling of resources possibly required. He injured the PCL in his knee on Saturday in Dunedin.

The All Blacks coach also name-checked veteran Crusaders prop Joe Moody – not quite ready for the full callup after recent foot problems – and crocked Rugby Championship lock Josh Lord among the group that he would have on standby should injury strike.

“Josh has been with us, played really well, but missed out on this squad,” said Foster. “He’s probably a couple of weeks away from playing with his shoulder, so we’ll be monitoring him really closely.

“You’ve also got Joe with his vast experience. He’s a pretty special man and been a great All Black and I know he’s desperate to come back and play again. We just felt with his time away – the end of ‘21 was the last time he played for the All Blacks – he’s going to benefit from some regular [game] time over the next 4-6 weeks and really build up his body, and the confidence in scrummaging and moving around.

“Who knows? He’s the ultimate story for World Cups, isn’t he in 2015 (Moody was a late replacement and started the final for the eventual champions). History is full of players coming in and joining us during a campaign and making a massive difference.”

Foster said he won’t make his wider backup group public because of various “ramifications” in play, but said the players would know who they are.

Midfielder David Havili was the only player from outside the Rugby Championship squad to break into the France-bound group (he was probably always going to replace Braydon Ennor, even before the centre suffered a season-ending knee injury last Saturday), and Foster indicated his game for Tasman last Friday had been crucial in that process.

“He’s ahead of the others in terms of playing. David had a lot of time with us last year,” said the coach. “We had a lot of faith in how he played, we like his skillset, and he’s been able to return to play in time for this, so we’re sure in our decision. He’s been always in our mind and we’ve been monitoring him pretty closely.”

Foster also confirmed wing Emoni Narawa, among five specialist outside backs chosen, would likely be ready to face South Africa in London if required after back problems had ruled him out recently.

”He didn’t train fully with the team, but he moved pretty fully before the Dunedin test. We’ll reassess him, and we’ve got options to cover if he isn’t ready. But we would expect his name to be in the hat.”

Foster also explained his 18-15 squad balance – one more back and one less loose forward than some were predicting.

“We’d like it to be an eight-week campaign and you have to have opposition to train against. So you’re looking at how you balance things out. We looked at the versatility too. We’ve got two locks who can play six, so that’s invaluable. In the past we’ve had three locks and six loosies… people cut that cake different ways. We’ve decided this is the right way for us.

“Outside backs is probably where we’ve taken an extra person. We’ve got the ability to juggle around, and keep exploring how we select our 23 particularly and how we utilise impact off the bench. This gives us a few options to keep experimenting in that space.”

The All Blacks are spending three days training and mingling with the public in Hawke’s Bay before an eight-day stint at home ahead of their departure for London.