{"id":77036,"date":"2025-10-14T04:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T04:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/77036\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T04:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T04:06:08","slug":"all-blacks-xv-jamie-joseph-explains-surprising-omission-of-dylan-pledger-from-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/77036\/","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks XV: Jamie Joseph explains surprising omission of Dylan Pledger from squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former test halfback Justin Marshall was among those pushing for Pledger to be included in Robertson\u2019s squad<\/a> \u2013 let alone the second-tier All Blacks XV.<\/p>\n

\"JamieJamie Joseph: “It’s always tempting to pick a young player to come in and get some experience, but he’s got plenty of time, a lot of rugby to play, he hasn’t played Super footy.” Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Joseph will get his hands on Pledger next year for his maiden Super Rugby Pacific season with the Highlanders.<\/p>\n

Rather than immediately promote Pledger to the next level and give him valuable exposure to the contrasting Northern Hemisphere styles and conditions, Joseph instead selected halfbacks Kyle Preston, Xavier Roe and Folau Fakatava.<\/p>\n

At this stage in his development, the Highlanders head coach believes Pledger is better served partaking in a full Super Rugby Pacific pre-season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got no doubt Dylan is going to be a really good player. That\u2019s evident at this level, at NPC,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cHe only just turned 20 the other day. There\u2019s some quality nines in this team with Folau, Preston and Roe. It\u2019s hard competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always tempting to pick a young player to come in and get some experience, but he\u2019s got plenty of time, a lot of rugby to play, he hasn\u2019t played Super footy. I wouldn\u2019t want to put him under too much pressure in his first year of professional rugby, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow Highlanders halfback Fakatava emerges from the wilderness to return to the national frame. Roigard, Cortez Ratima, Noah Hotham, Finlay Christie, Preston and Roe have all been preferred over Fakatava in recent times.<\/p>\n

Fakatava played two tests off the bench for the All Blacks against Ireland in 2022 but having been passed over since, he could potentially represent Tonga at the 2027 World Cup.<\/p>\n

The All Blacks XV<\/a> does not capture international eligibility but, at this stage, Joseph strongly indicated Fakatava\u2019s desire to again don the black jersey, saying he \u201c100%\u201d has a desire to play for the All Blacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cFolau played for the All Blacks at 22 and he\u2019s been around a long time. He was in the shadow of Aaron Smith for years. He played most of his rugby as an impact nine off the bench and now we\u2019re regarding him as an old player and he\u2019s only 25. He\u2019s playing awesome rugby for Hawke\u2019s Bay. This is the next step for Folau. He\u2019s got an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former All Blacks Hoskins Sotutu and Ethan Blackadder are among those unavailable due to injuries, yet Joseph\u2019s loose forwards, comprising Kaylum Boshier, Devan Flanders, T.K. Howden, Christian Lio-Willie, Papali\u2019i and Sean Withy, the latter the youngest at 24, is a nod to the next tier.<\/p>\n

Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens completes his recovery \u2013 after enduring a fractured neck<\/a> a year ago \u2013 to be rewarded with inclusion in the outside backs.<\/p>\n

Depth at lock is significantly tested after Patrick Tuipulotu joined Tupou Vaa\u2019i with season-ending injuries to leave Ah Kuoi, Isaia Walker-Leawere and 23-year-old Blues prospect Josh Beehre next in line after Sam Darry\u2019s elevation to the All Blacks.<\/p>\n

The next generation of props is unveiled too, with 22-year-old rookie Hurricanes tighthead Siale Lauaki and Bay of Plenty\u2019s Benet Kumeroa promoted to the national frame.<\/p>\n

Other than Papali\u2019i, the All Blacks XV squad features six capped test players, including Crusaders midfielders David Havili, Braydon Ennor, Dallas McLeod and loose forward Christian Lio-Willie.<\/p>\n

Joseph assumes the All Blacks XV reins from Clayton McMillan following his departure to lead Munster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty excited about this side,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cThe All Blacks take 36 players on tour. There\u2019s a number of injuries but with the selection of this side, I didn\u2019t feel we were under pressure around depth and experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though this is going to be a very difficult tour under the circumstances of assembling on a Saturday, flying out the Sunday and playing the following Saturday, I\u2019m excited about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first time for me for some time coaching a New Zealand side \u2013 the last time being the M\u0101ori All Blacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Blacks XV squad<\/p>\n

Hookers: Brodie McAlister, Jack Taylor, Bradley Slater.<\/p>\n

Props: George Dyer, Josh Fusitua, Benet Kumeroa, Siale Lauaki, Xavier Numia.<\/p>\n

Locks: Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Josh Beehre, Isaia Walker-Leawere.<\/p>\n

Loose forwards: Kaylum Boshier, Devan Flanders, Te Kamaka Howden, Christian Lio-Willie, Dalton Papali\u2019i, Sean Withy.<\/p>\n

Halfbacks: Folau Fakatava, Kyle Preston, Xavier Roe.<\/p>\n

First fives: Josh Jacomb, Rivez Reihana.<\/p>\n

Midfield: Braydon Ennor, David Havili, Dallas McLeod, Daniel Rona.<\/p>\n

Outside backs: Chay Fihaki, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Caleb Tangitau.<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/p>\n

Sunday November 2<\/p>\n

All Blacks XV v Barbarians, Brentford, kickoff 2.15am NZT <\/p>\n

Sunday November 9<\/p>\n

All Blacks XV v England A, Bath, kickoff 2.15am NZT <\/p>\n

Sunday November 16<\/p>\n

All Blacks XV v Uruguay, France, kickoff time TBC<\/p>\n

Liam Napier<\/a> is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former test halfback Justin Marshall was among those pushing for Pledger to be included in Robertson\u2019s squad \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[59327,5263,8136,1320,60037,8650,37119,71,106,9519,53733,111,139,69,1118,17886,60038,60039,213,1557,6432,27982],"class_list":["post-77036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-absence","tag-all","tag-blacks","tag-coach","tag-dylan","tag-explained","tag-explains","tag-from","tag-head","tag-jamie","tag-joseph","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-omission","tag-pledger","tag-pledgers","tag-sports","tag-squad","tag-surprising","tag-xv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77036","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=77036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}