All Blacks Fehi Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby, Anton Segner and Xavier Numia and their first XV pathway to the black jersey
Sunday, 28 June 2026
Fehi Fineanganofo used to marvel at his older brother Melino busting tackles and scoring tries for Auckland Grammar School’s first XV.
Suitably inspired, it wasn’t too long before young Fehi was doing the same - pink headgear and all.
“My brother, he used to be a big name in school and all I wanted was to outdo him. I saw all the All Blacks that used to go to Grammar, that’s been a dream ever since going there. I just want to make the family proud,” Fineanganofo said after he was named in new coach Dave Rennie’s squad.
Another sibling, John, nearly three years younger than Fehi, trod a similar path and in 2021 was carving up for Grammar in that similar pink headgear. John Fineanganofo is now knocking on the door of the Dolphins’ first grade side in the NRL.
Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw recalled earlier this year first seeing the younger Fineanganofo siblings bamboozling defenders at a school sevens tournament. “They were incredible,” he said. Laidlaw picked Fehi in his All Blacks Sevens team and he was a Paris Olympian, but it wasn’t until this year in a breakout 17-try Super Rugby season in a title-winning side that the tag ‘All Black in waiting’ was applied to the 23-year-old speedster.
When Fineanganofo makes his test debut next month against either France, Italy or Ireland, he will be Grammar’s 53rd All Black, according to NZ Rugby’s records (based on last secondary school attended). Fullback Shaun Stevenson, who last week confirmed an allegiance switch to Samoa, was Grammar’s 52nd when he played his solitary test - a 23-20 win over the Wallabies in Dunedin in 2023.
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Christchurch Boys’ High School - which gained on Grammar’s count when lock Fabian Holland became their 45th All Black a year ago - is ranked second on the production line of top rugby-playing talent over the more than 120 years of All Blacks test rugby.
Still, there’s a clear winner once again when it comes to highest representation in Rennie’s 34-man squad for the July tests. Hamilton Boys’ High School has Josh Lord, Quinn Tupaea, Cortez Ratima and Josh Moorby - like his Hurricanes team-mate Fineanganofo also awaiting his first cap.
They could have had a fifth but halfback Noah Hotham was overlooked for Kyle Preston, joining Du’Plessis Kirifi (Francis Douglas Memorial, along with the Barrett brothers) as the two unluckiest.
Rugby writer Aaron Goile’s feature for the Waikato Times last year showed how dominant Hamilton Boys’ had been this century: they had the most boys’ Top-Four titles (six since 2008), most finals (eight) and most appearances (14). Emoni Narawa and Sevu Reece were other HBHS All Blacks, having arrived from Fiji on scholarships.
Moorby’s older brother, Cam, is the first XV coach, having taken over from Hotham’s father Nigel of whom Cam Moorby said: “He was a schoolboy rugby genius. He’s the guru.”
Josh Moorby will be HBHS’ 16th All Black when he makes his debut, drawing them level with Ruben Love’s Palmerston North Boys’ High School.
Moorby turns 28 on July 11, the day of the Wellington test against Italy, and was a rugby late bloomer. From Te Awamutu farming stock, Moorby took the long route to the All Blacks via NPC stints with Southland and Northland, before cutting short his stint in France with Montpellier and returning to the Hurricanes in devastating style.
Like Fineanganofo, Moorby couldn’t be overlooked on form as he scored a double in the final win over the Chiefs and finished level with his mate’s record try tally of 17.
“It’s not your traditional route to get to where I am. I don’t regret any of it, it’s been an awesome part of my rugby career and I’ve met some great people who’ve helped me a lot throughout the journey,” Moorby said.
There were almost tears when Moorby, Fineanganofo and fellow uncapped players Anton Segner and Xavier Numia were presented to the crowd at Feilding Yellows Rugby Club last Monday.
Said Moorby: “I was getting a little bit emotional walking in… it’s something you dream of and to be seeing it first hand… unbelievable.”
Segner, who turns 25 on July 24, will become Nelson College’s 23rd All Black, after Leicester Fainga’anuku. It will move Nelson College to equal fifth with Christ’s College on the ranking list of schools producing All Blacks.
A German exchange student who was offered a scholarship by Nelson College in 2017 and was only planning on staying six months, Segner changed his mind when he was picked for the first XV. He impressed as a robust loose forward in televised matches and was signed by Tasman in the NPC.“The All Blacks is definitely a big goal of mine,” he told Stuff in 2019.
His form for the Blues also couldn’t be ignored, and he spoke eloquently and humbly (in English and German, when asked to by a reporter), at the squad announcement, of wanting to inspire budding players from “non rugby” countries - a year after Holland became the first Dutch-born All Black.
“I remember watching the haka and getting up to watch every game (in the 2011 World Cup)… I don’t think words can do justice to the emotions the four of us are feeling right now,” Segner said.
Like Moorby, Numia has had to bide his time. The 27-year-old loosehead prop’s “absolutely explosive” Super form for the Hurricanes was hailed by Rennie, as he joined Billy Proctor as All Blacks from Wellington’s St Pat’s Town, where the late Jerry Collins also went to school.
Said Numia: “I was having this convo with Billy over the weekend, just how crazy and how cool to have a moment like this. He’s one of my best mates so sharing this with him is pretty special.”
St Pat’s Town, Francis Douglas (Beauden and Jordie Barrett), St Pat’s Silverstream (Asafo Aumua, Peter Lakai), Christ’s (Damian McKenzie, Sam Darry), CBHS (Anton Leinert-Brown, Will Jordan) and St Peter’s School, Cambridge (Cam Roigard, Simon Parker) are those with multiple players in this first squad, behind HBHS.
Five different Auckland schools and five Wellington schools contribute players to Rennie’s 34-man squad, including some lesser known rugby nurseries in the capital like Murray Mexted’s alma mater Tawa College (Kyle Preston) and Taita College (George Bower), which also produced two-time Hurricanes title winner and England international Brad Shields.
All Blacks squad, and their first XVs
Hookers: Asafo Aumua (St Pat’s Silverstream), Codie Taylor (Feilding High School), Samisoni Taukei’aho (St Paul’s Collegiate, Hamilton).
Props: Ethan de Groot (Southland Boys’ High School), George Bower (Taita College), Xavier Numia* (St Pat’s Town), Tyrel Lomax (St Edmund’s College, Canberra), Fletcher Newell (Rangiora High School), Pasilio Tosi (Rotorua Boys’ High School).
Locks: Tupou Vaa’i (Wesley College), Patrick Tuipulotu (St Peter’s College, Auckland), Josh Lord (Hamilton Boys’ High School), Sam Darry (Christ’s College).
Loose forwards: Peter Lakai (St Pat’s Silverstream), Simon Parker (St Peter’s School, Cambridge), Ardie Savea (Rongotai College), Wallace Sititi (De La Salle College), Luke Jacobson (Cambridge High School), Anton Segner* (Nelson College).
Halfbacks: Cam Roigard (St Peter’s School, Cambridge), Cortez Ratima (Hamilton Boys’ High School), Kyle Preston (Tawa College).
First five-eighths: Ruben Love (Palmerston North Boys’ High School), Beauden Barrett (Francis Douglas Memorial College), Damian McKenzie (Christ’s College).
Midfielders: Jordie Barrett (Francis Douglas Memorial College), Quinn Tupaea (Hamilton Boys’ High School), Billy Proctor (St Pat’s Town), Anton Lienert-Brown (Christchurch Boys’ High School).
Outside backs: Caleb Clarke (Mt Albert Grammar School), Fehi Fineanganofo* (Auckland Grammar School), Leroy Carter (Tauranga Boys’ College), Josh Moorby* (Hamilton Boys’ High School), Will Jordan (Christchurch Boys’ High School).
* uncapped
Schools with the most All Blacks (most recent in brackets)
52: Auckland Grammar (Shaun Stevenson)
45: Christchurch BHS (Fabian Holland)
35: Wellington College (Lima Sopoaga)
25: New Plymouth BHS (Reuben Thorne)
23: Christ’s College (Sam Darry)
22: Nelson College (Leicester Fainga’anuku), Southland BHS (Ethan de Groot)
19: Otago BHS (Richie McCaw), Timaru BHS (Cullen Grace)
18: Sacred Heart, Auckland (Hoskins Sotutu)
16: Palmerston North BHS (Ruben Love)
15: Hamilton BHS (Noah Hotham), King’s College (Josh Ioane), Mt Albert Grammar (Caleb Clarke), Whanganui Collegiate (Stephen Perofeta)
* Source: NZ Rugby (based on last secondary school attended)