All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan has urged Dave Rennie to invest in \u201csize\u201d after picking the gargantuan duo Saula Ma\u2019u and Pasilio Tosi in his squad.<\/p>\n
The tighthead pair are part of the 36-man group selected for the Nations Championship as New Zealand look to build on their Bledisloe Cup success.<\/p>\n
Both props tip the scales at around 22st which means they certainly bring plenty of ballast to that front-row.<\/p>\n
Ma\u2019u has been picked after Tyrel Lomax was ruled out due to a neck issue and he will look to put himself in the frame for the Rugby World Cup next year.<\/p>\n
Change to impress for the All Blacks<\/p>\n
At least one of them will be in the 23 for each of the games in November, which means Rennie<\/a> will be able to view their Test credentials at the highest level.<\/p>\n Tosi has already played plenty of international rugby but he has had a poor season after a promising 2025, while his new All Blacks<\/a> colleague has yet to earn a cap.<\/p>\n The Highlander impressed in New Zealand\u2019s tour game against the Lions during Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour, however, and should make his Test debut next month.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the interesting thing for me is what we\u2019re going to do up front, whether we\u2019re going to start playing a bit more size,\u201d Kirwan<\/a> said on the Rivals podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Saula Ma\u2019u and Pasilio Tosi, they\u2019re big men and people have been asking me, \u2018what do we need to do moving forward if we\u2019re going to meet South Africa in a game?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, sometimes we need to look for some size to combat South Africa, especially up front, and some of these young boys \u2013 Saula and Pasilio \u2013 they\u2019re big men.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re like your South African men, so I\u2019m hoping they\u2019re going to get some opportunities to play and start Test matches up north because I do think we need their size.\u201d<\/p>\n All Blacks hero: The \u2018sudden\u2019 development under Dave Rennie after \u2018hugely unlucky\u2019 duo miss out on northern tour<\/a><\/p>\n Size and technique<\/p>\n Weight is obviously not the only thing matters for a prop with technique an even bigger factor in the set-piece.<\/p>\n It is why Fletcher Newell and Lomax are ahead of the Tosi and Ma\u2019u in the pecking order at the moment but, for Kirwan, size is very important when it comes to forwards.<\/p>\n \u201cAre they the best in their position at the moment? Possibly not, but I think we\u2019ve got to start thinking about size,\u201d he added<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe others \u2013 Bower, De Groot, Newell \u2013 they\u2019re probably better scrummagers than them at the moment, but I just think that there\u2019s this size thing that we need to think about when we\u2019re playing South Africa, and that\u2019s just my amateur look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n