{"id":459135,"date":"2026-06-03T16:54:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T16:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/459135\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T16:54:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T16:54:23","slug":"ex-all-black-claims-nz-rugby-shoulder-tapped-fehi-fineanganofo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/459135\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-All Black claims NZ Rugby ‘shoulder tapped’ Fehi Fineanganofo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Former All Black Steven Bates insists that Fehi Fineanganofo would have definitely been given a nudge by NZ Rugby amid rumours that he is set to renege on his Newcastle Red Bulls deal.<\/p>\n

Bates was among a trio of ex-New Zealand internationals who discussed the Hurricanes star\u2019s situation with reports suggesting that the 23-year-old will not now be heading abroad.<\/p>\n

Fineanganofo has signed a two-year deal with Newcastle but that was announced in January and since then he has enjoyed a stunning Super Rugby Pacific campaign.<\/p>\n

The wing has equalled the record for tries scored in a single Super Rugby season and that has led to a certain amount of concern within New Zealand.<\/p>\n

A guarantee for All Blacks selection<\/p>\n

Providing he is eligible and available, Fineanganofo<\/a> would be a certainty for the national squad ahead of the Nations Championship<\/p>\n

Former All Blacks<\/a> Stephen Donald, James Parsons and Bates were therefore asked on The Breakdown about the current saga surrounding the speedster.<\/p>\n

Donald was first to chime in and said: \u201cHas he been shoulder tapped? You don\u2019t know but we possibly presume that he has.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also, it might be the individual. He has now had a run in Super Rugby and realised that he is well and truly at this level which he can master.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe probably thought, \u2018what am I going to live in Newcastle for when I\u2019m literally within grasp of becoming an All Black\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if he hasn\u2019t been told, he\u2019s going to start to realise, \u2018why not hold fire for a couple of years because the overseas will always be there, but I could fulfil a dream as opposed to going now and having regrets for the rest of my life\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugby transfers: Another Springboks star linked with Stormers, Eben Etzebeth speculation and update provided on Fehi Fineanganofo<\/a><\/p>\n

Bates, meanwhile, is utterly convinced that NZ Rugby have looked to influence matters despite their denials.<\/p>\n

It is against World Rugby\u2019s laws for unions to try and convince players to break contracts.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest, he\u2019s been shoulder tapped,\u201d the ex-back-rower said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I reckon they want to do is take him to South Africa. If he\u2019s staying, they will take him to South Africa and then Rens being Rens will teach him, \u2018mate this environment\u2019s so good, why don\u2019t you stay?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what they want to do and then who knows. Who are your wingers? Him and Caleb Clarke? He\u2019s there or thereabouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Where there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire\u2019<\/p>\n

Should Fineanganofo end up staying, former hooker Parsons reckons it would have very much been a personal decision rather than the wing being convinced by outside influences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think it\u2019s more down the lens of he\u2019s a kid that backs himself, he\u2019s come through the sevens programme, he\u2019s worn the black jersey, he knows what it means, he wants to be an All Black,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s gone, \u2018actually, I am the best in the country\u2019, and maybe looked at his options and seen what he can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree where there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire and, as you say, the rugby rumour mill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very clear, Dave Rennie\u2019s<\/a> said he\u2019s picking on form, the best players are going to get picked. I just think it\u2019s a good thing, though, it\u2019s not a development team.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: NZ Rugby \u2018pull some strings\u2019 to \u2018block\u2019 Fehi Fineanganofo deal as PREM side left \u2018very, very upset\u2019 \u2013 report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former All Black Steven Bates insists that Fehi Fineanganofo would have definitely been given a nudge by NZ…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[202234,1463,49155,1464,111,2653,43,139,69,13180,213,82286],"class_list":["post-459135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-fehi-fineanganofo","tag-home-page","tag-hurricanes","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-premiership","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}