Fehi Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby, Xavier Numia, Anton Segner earn All Blacks call-ups

Monday, 22 June 2026

Doubt still surrounds his future, but Hurricanes tryscoring sensation Fehi Fineanganofo has proved an irresistible pick in Dave Rennie’s first All Blacks squad.

The 23-year-old, who at this stage is set to join Newcastle Red Bulls later in the year, was one of four new caps in the 34-man squad for next month’s Nations Championship Southern Series tests, announced by New Zealand Rugby chair David Kirk at the Feilding Yellows Rugby Club on Monday.

Fineanganofo is joined by fellow Super Rugby Pacific title-winning flyer Josh Moorby, off the back of the pair both finishing the season with a record 17 tries, while their Hurricanes mate, prop Xavier Numia, is another new face, along with Blues loose forward Anton Segner, in the group chosen by Rennie, senior assistant coach Neil Barnes, and fellow selector Sir Graham Henry.

“We spent so much time on this, constantly discussing form, I’m not sure if any one area was tougher than the others, there’s genuine competition, so that creates discussion, but we were pretty aligned in the end on the 34 we chose,” Rennie said.

Ardie Savea, fresh off a campaign with Rennie’s championship-clinching Kobe side in Japan, has been named captain.

“What we know with Ardie, he’s not a massive talker, but he’ll lead with his actions, and having him as captain, [he has] massive respect, [is] very experienced, and I think he’ll only get better,” Rennie said, adding that the star loosie will be available throughout the July series but will then likely need to be managed through the test campaign following his workload over the last 18 months.

But while Savea and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown (also Kobe) return from offshore, there is no room for the other veteran All Black who was on sabbatical, with Rieko Ioane missing the cut, two days after scoring a try in Leinster’s URC final win over the Bulls, with Rennie noting his non-selection was more to do with the quality of players on hand here.

And in Fineanganofo and Moorby, who will turn 28 next month, Rennie has a red-hot in-form duo, in an outside backs group that includes Will Jordan (calf), who could be a chance, Rennie confirmed, to feature in next weekend’s first test of the season.

“They’ve both been outstanding out wide, finished well, but [have a] massive work-ethic and the ability to beat people and create opportunity for others,” Rennie said of the Canes pair.

Speculation will continue as to whether Fineanganofo will be extricated from his contract in England, but Rennie was nonetheless happy to call upon him for now and will “let others work through that process”.

“He’s available till November, so we’ve made a decision to pick him, and that’s based on form,” he said.

“Our focus is really on what we’ve got available for us now, and we’ll see where things end up.”

Prop Tamaiti Williams, locks Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland and hybrid Leicester Fainga’anuku were (incumbent) players listed as unavailable due to injury, though there is doubt over second-rower Tupou Vaa’i following a concussion in Saturday night’s Super final, which has seen the Crusaders’ Jamie Hannah called in as temporary cover.

In a squad that features 11 Hurricanes (the same amount as the Chiefs), their co-captain, Du’Plessis Kirifi, could be considered one of the most unlucky to miss the cut, with Segner, on the back of a wonderful campaign for the Blues, set to become the first German-born All Black.

“Anton’s been incredible,” Rennie said, lauding his ability as a lineout forward, the quality of his carry, and citing his post-tackle statistics as being a key factor. “So he’s made really good decisions and he’s been really effective.”

The other new face in the pack is Numia, who looks ready-made for Rennie’s game-plan of “optimisim” and “brutality”.

“You don’t see many looseheads like him, absolutely explosive and he’s been a big part of the go-forward for the Hurricanes and the ability to create quick ball, and he’s scrummaged well and he’s got a lot better over the last couple of years.”

There is an eyebrow-raiser at halfback, where Noah Hotham has been overlooked in favour of one-test Crusaders team-mate Kyle Preston, who didn’t start any matches during the Super season, but whose speed to the breakdown and quality of distribution was key, Rennie noted, while Chiefs loosehead prop Ollie Norris and Highlanders second-five Timoci Tavatavanawai were other notable omissions.

The squad will assemble in Auckland on Wednesday, before travelling to Christchurch later in the week to prepare for the season-opening test against France, in what will be the first international staged at One NZ Stadium.

They will then face Italy at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on July 11 and Ireland at Eden Park in Auckland on July 18.

All Blacks squad for Nations Championship Southern Series

FORWARDS (19)

Hookers: Asafo Aumua, Codie Taylor, Samisoni Taukei’aho

Props: Ethan de Groot, George Bower, Xavier Numia*, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi

Locks: Tupou Vaa’i, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Lord, Sam Darry

Loose forwards: Peter Lakai, Simon Parker, Ardie Savea (captain), Wallace Sititi, Luke Jacobson, Anton Segner*

BACKS (15)

Halfbacks: Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima, Kyle Preston

First five-eighths: Ruben Love, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie

Midfielders: Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Billy Proctor, Anton Lienert-Brown

Outside backs: Caleb Clarke, Fehi Fineanganofo*, Leroy Carter, Josh Moorby*, Will Jordan

*denotes new cap