Justin Marshall has hit out at Dave Rennie\u2019s verdict on Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku\u2019s role in the All Blacks team, stating his stance is naive.<\/p>\n
The Crusaders star is currently in a race against time to make the Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa after suffering a leg fracture in the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final defeat to the Chiefs.<\/p>\n
Fainga\u2019anuku looked bound to be in the All Blacks squad for the July internationals before sustaining the injury after a stellar season at the Crusaders following his spell in France with RC Toulon.<\/p>\n
All Blacks\u2019 midfield puzzle<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old enjoyed a strong start to his time back in New Zealand<\/a>, featuring mostly in the centres, but he really stole the headlines during the Super Round when he was named at openside flanker for the Crusaders. He produced a man-of-the-match performance that day against the Waratahs and spent the remainder of the season starting in the number seven jumper for his club.<\/p>\n Whilst he enjoyed a fine run of form in the back-row during the Super Rugby campaign, Marshall<\/a> believes that he is still better as a centre, with his skillset suiting Rennie\u2019s<\/a> backline.<\/p>\n He said as much on Sky Sports NZ\u2019s Breakdown show after ex-All Blacks prop Angus Ta\u2019avao remarked, \u201cThe skillset that he can bring there fits the bill for me at centre\u201d during a section of the show where the panel answered fans\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n \u201c100% on that,\u201d Marshall replied.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been right from the start of his international career that he is a centre that can challenge defenders. He\u2019s got an offload. He\u2019s a good distributor, and he breaks tackles.\u201d<\/p>\n All Blacks legend predicts Dave Rennie selection is \u2018specific tactic\u2019 for the Springboks<\/a><\/p>\n Justin Marshall\u2019s \u2018problem\u2019<\/p>\n Speaking to the media in May, Rennie made no mention of the Crusader star\u2019s ability to play in the midfield but did say that he was a prospect for the back-row and on the wing.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s gone well. I\u2019ve been really impressed with him from a work ethic point of view,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s carrying a lot, stealing a lot of ball and so on. There\u2019s a lot to refine there in his game at number seven, but his ability on the edge as a winger or at seven gives you genuine versatility in your squad.\u201d<\/p>\n Nations Championship Team of Week: Finn Russell\u2019s \u2018finest\u2019 Test match of his career and history made for Henry Pollock and \u2018easiest\u2019 selection<\/a><\/p>\n Marshall has taken issue with the fact that his midfield ability wasn\u2019t mentioned by the head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem for me was when Dave Rennie was asked about him at centre, he said that he didn\u2019t see him in that jersey, which I think is naive to do that. You\u2019ve got to give somebody a go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n Fainga\u2019anuku lacks the pace for the midfield<\/p>\n However, legendary winger Jeff Wilson argued that Fainga\u2019anuku<\/a> has the ability to attack from the centres but doesn\u2019t believe that he has the speed to play in midfield for the All Blacks. He adds that pace is a requirement for a centre in the modern game, particularly on defence.<\/p>\n