#Hoskins Sotutu

By Alex McLeod of RugbyPass.com Ian Foster's 35-man All Blacks squad will assemble for the first time today in Whakatane as preparations for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series get underway. Plenty of anticipation has arisen since last week's confirmation that the All Blacks and Wallabies will do battle with each other for the first time in over a…

The international season may have come to a close, but the action continues and Two Cents Rugby has joined us again to pick out his players to watch in 2023. Indeed, the Six Nations Championship is not too far away from kick-off and combine that with all the club competitions, there is a lot to look forward to next year. So which players can we…

Sam Cane has retained the All Blacks captaincy as part of Friday's squad announcement for this year's Rugby Championship - coach Ian Foster's first public comments since the cancelled press conference last Sunday after the side's series loss to Ireland. Foster named a 36-man squad for this year's tournament in Auckland on Friday afternoon after…

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand are set to add another chapter to their fierce rivalry this Thursday with some Bledisloe Cup action. Rugby fans are used to seeing the All Blacks dominate this prestigious tournament as they have won 49 of a possible 62 series played. But some poor performances from New Zealand has seen the title race been blown wide open…

After a dramatic build-up, Super Rugby Pacific got off to an entertaining start last week. The Fijian Drua might not have got a first-up win, but they were still a huge hit in Sydney as they fell to the Waratahs 40-10. There were wins for the Crusaders, Chiefs and Reds on Saturday, before a Sunday afternoon thriller was taken out by the Brumbies…

Fijian Pita Gus Sowakula has been dropped from the New Zealand All Blacks for the upcoming Rugby Championships. Sowakula, who made his debut in the series loss against Ireland, is replaced in the loose forwards by Shannon Frizell. George Bower, Hoskins Sotutu and Sevu Reece are the Fijians named in the squad with Sam Cane retaining the…

As the All Blacks embark on their northern hemisphere tour, head coach Ian Foster will know that there are plenty of areas his side need to work on despite winning the Rugby Championship. Some of the team's greatest flaws were exposed during the Championship, and as a result they experienced some record breaking lows. Some of those problems have…

The All Blacks began their preparation for their northern hemisphere tour with an open training session in Nelson this week, ahead of their Test against Japan in just over two weeks' time. They also decided to unearth some footage of the squad in the gym from a few months ago, and Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga will be pretty happy with that. That…

The bulk of the Rugby Championship squad has been retained, as the All Blacks set their sights on the Northern Tour, while a number of players from the Ireland series have returned to the squad. Props Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi, along with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku, return to Foster's squad. They missed The Rugby Championship, following…

The bulk of the Rugby Championship squad has been retained as the All Blacks set their sights on the Northern Tour whilst a number of players from the Ireland series have returned to the squad. Props Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi along with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku return to Foster's squad after missing The Rugby Championship following the…

The All Blacks may be struggling for consistency, identity and fluency through this most problematic of seasons, but there is one thing we can rest assured about: the trans-Tasman rugby rivalry is alive and kicking ahead of the Rugby Championship finale against the Wallabies on Saturday night. The events of Bledisloe I at Marvel Stadium just over a…

All you need to know ahead of the second Bledisloe test between the All Blacks and the Wallabies at Eden Park (kickoff at 7.05pm): It all comes down to this, well sort of. The All Blacks can move into pole position on the Rugby Championship table with victory in the second Bledisloe Cup test. In terms of the Rugby Championship, all four teams could…

New Zealand vs Australia: The All Blacks and Wallabies have the first move in the final play for the Rugby Championship. Australia appear to have been fired up by what went down last Thursday but can they pull one over on New Zealand. Injuries have forced changes to the All Blacks team that defeated Australia in Melbourne, with captain Sam Cane,…

With the Bledisloe Cup wrapped up for 2022, the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship and a 28-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park are on the line on Saturday night. Match details: All Blacks v Australia, Saturday 24 September, 7.05pm NZT, Eden Park, Auckland Played: 174 Won: All Blacks 121, Australia 45, Drawn 8 Last time: All Blacks 39, Australia 37 (15…

All Blacks skipper Sam Cane has been ruled out of this weekend's Bledisloe Cup test in Auckland due to injury. ' Cane is one of a number of forced changes to the All Blacks team that defeated Australia in Melbourne, with Scott Barrett, David Havili and Quinn Tupaea also unavailable for selection this week. Sam Whitelock will lead a side which has…

The All Blacks selectors, Head Coach Ian Foster, Assistant Head Coach John Plumtree and former All Black Grant Fox, have named their squad for the 2021 edition of the Rugby Championship. The 36-strong squad is as follows: (Age, Sky Super Rugby club, provincial union and Test caps in brackets.