Noah Hotham has opened up on his disappointment after missing out on selection for New Zealand’s squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa.
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie named a squad of 44 players for the men in black’s eagerly anticipated Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour and Hotham’s exclusion is widely considered as one of the biggest surprises.
The Crusaders scrum-half was expected to be one of four number nines included in the All Blacks squad alongside Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima and Kyle Preston, who were all in Rennie’s 34-man squad during their Nations Championship Tests against France, Italy and Ireland earlier this month.
Unlucky to miss out
However, Rennie opted not to include an extra scrum-half when he added the 10 extra players for the South African tour and revealed that he has pencilled in winger Leroy Carter as the fourth-choice number nine in the group.
Hotham admitted that he was shocked to be omitted from the All Blacks squad after impressing during the Crusaders’ recent Super Rugby Pacific campaign where he was the Christchurch-based outfit’s first choice scrum-half ahead of Preston.
“It’s been frustrating, but I could only control what I did at Super Rugby and I put my best foot forward, I thought, and did everything I could,” he told Newstalk ZB.
“I’m disappointed with the selection of ABs, but that’s footy.
“I guess it’s just part of the journey and every good sailor has to go through some rough seas before they get to the smooth ones.”
The 23-year-old, who has made three Test appearances for New Zealand, is now fully focused on doing well for Tasman in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) and he started in their 19-15 victory over North Harbour in Nelson on Friday night.
Hotham is hoping his form with Tasman will earn him an All Blacks call-up, if his services are needed, as an injury replacement.
‘It’s a case of staying ready’
“It probably wasn’t clear at the start [what I needed to do], but [I’ve] had a few convos that I think I needed and I guess it’s a case of staying ready and if I do get an opportunity or when I get an opportunity to really nail it,” he explained.
“It’s exciting to put that jersey back on and go out there and play in front of our fans on our 20th anniversary.”
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The All Blacks will take on all four of South Africa’s United Rugby Championship teams ahead of three clashes with the Springboks in Johannesburg (twice) and Cape Town, before Baltimore hosts the fourth and final Test on September 12.
They kick off their six-week tour against the Stormers in Cape Town on August 7.
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