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Caleb Clarke has won his first All Blacks call-up after a standout performance for the North on Saturday night.
Blues standouts Caleb Clarke and Hoskins Sotutu and Crusaders sensation Will Jordan are among the new games in Ian Foster’s 35-man All Blacks squad announced Sunday.
In total, Foster has included seven limitless players on his squad that was unveiled the morning after what was effectively a final test in the form of the revived inter-island match, won dramatically 38-35 by the South over the North.
Other players who have yet to don the All Blacks jersey include Blues mainstay Alex Hodgman, locks Quinten Strange (Crusaders) and Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs) and Crusaders drop forward Cullen Grace, while enigmatic Blues loser Akira Ioane has played a game for the All Blacks, but has yet to appear in a test.
It is not yet known what tests, if any, the All Blacks will have in 2020, as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the international calendar.
A proposed Rugby Championship, to be held in New Zealand or Western Australia, is now in serious doubt after a major coronavirus outbreak among the Argentine squad, while negotiations continue around a Bledisloe Cup series that may or not represent the only significant series. All Blacks action for the rest of this year.
Squad of all Blacks:
Whores: Asafo Aumua, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor. accessories: Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Joe Moody, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tuungafasi. Locks: Quinten Strange, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Sam Whitelock. Loose forwards: Sam Cane (captain), Shannon Frizell, Cullen Grace, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu. Halfbacks: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber. First five eighths: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga. Midfielders: Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown. Outer backs: Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece.
