All Blacks winger Emoni Narawa re-signs with New Zealand Rugby, Chiefs through 2029

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Emoni Narawa has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs through till 2029.

If there’s one man as motivated as anyone to get back in the All Blacks jersey, it’s Emoni Narawa.

In a career so far hit by some awful injury setbacks, the Fijian flyer is hoping for some sort of slice of luck to go his way, and has now put pen to paper on a new three-year deal with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs, recommitting to the end of 2029.

“Obviously I talked to a few people, coaches, and the main one was around my family,” the 26-year-old father-of-two said on Wednesday of his decision, which saw him knock back multiple interest from overseas.

“I guess the main thing was if I was to leave New Zealand it would be with no stones unturned.

“The main reason [for staying] was to chase another World Cup dream, obviously the last World Cup was a bit of a nightmare.”

Indeed, after a 2023 try-scoring debut in Argentina, Narawa had suffered a freak slipped disc in his back that had his tournament in France over before it even began.

Emoni Narawa is helped off Eden Park after suffering a broken rib and punctured lung against the Springboks in September last year.

After then falling out of favour in Scott Robertson’s first year in charge, adding just one more cap, his international career continued to stutter last year, with two appearances, before his horror setback at Eden Park last September.

Having scored a memorable early try in that All Blacks Rugby Championship win over the Springboks, Narawa just a few minutes later then suffered a broken rib, and what was also later found to be a punctured lung, which saw him sidelined for the rest of the season.

“It’s quite frustrating, really. Being at the international level and not being able to perform because of injuries. And it’s not just your normal injuries. I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give.

“So hopefully luck’s a bit on my side this year.”

Having suffered another setback with his back in the Super Rugby Pacific pre-season, Narawa returned for the Chiefs in round two this year, in what was his 50th game for the franchise he debuted for in 2022 after seven appearances for the Blues in the two years prior.

He now has 32 tries to sit fifth-equal on the Chiefs’ try-scoring charts, and joins Damian McKenzie as the only player on the Hamilton-based side’s books through 2029, with coach Jono Gibbes noting it was a boon to have “someone of his quality, his character” around the group for the next few years, instead of him joining the exodus heading overseas, which last week added the scalp of fellow Chiefs outside back Etene Nanai-Seturo.

“It’s a brave call, with no guarantee of the future,” Gibbes noted. “But to commit and have a real crack at the World Cup, to make sure that he has no regrets, I commend his bravery in taking that option.”

The All Blacks, under new coach Dave Rennie, face a huge 2026 campaign, with 13 tests and 17 games, featuring the new Nations Championship and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa.

Next year then comes the World Cup in Australia, while the British and Irish Lions tour New Zealand is in 2029.

Narawa joins McKenzie, Cam Roigard and Tamaiti Williams as All Blacks who have re-signed till then, though he said that once-in-12-years opportunity was not something that had entered his thinking.