{"id":559724,"date":"2026-05-01T01:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T01:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/559724\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T01:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T01:14:12","slug":"eddie-jones-verdict-on-leicester-faingaanuku-experiment-game-has-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/559724\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Jones’ verdict on Leicester Fainga’anuku experiment: ‘Game has changed’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie Jones believes that Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku\u2019s shift into the back-row is a \u201cnatural progression\u201d given how rugby has developed over the years.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has become the sport\u2019s latest hybrid player with the Test star able to operate in either the backline or the back-row.<\/p>\n

Fainga\u2019anuku started at openside flanker for the first time ever last weekend and impressed as the Crusaders<\/a> defeated the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific.<\/p>\n

He had spent time in the forwards prior to that encounter but only later on in games with Rob Penney deciding that the clash at One NZ Stadium was the perfect opportunity to see him in that role for a full 80 minutes.<\/p>\n

Fainga\u2019anuku retains role for Hurricanes clash<\/p>\n

The All Black<\/a> has retained his spot in the seven jersey for the upcoming derby against league leaders the Hurricanes where he will feature alongside Ethan Blackadder and Christian Lio-Willie in the loose trio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve basically used him as a ball carrier and he\u2019s a powerful ball carrier. He\u2019s got good footwork and it\u2019s a natural progression of the game to develop these hybrid players,\u201d Jones<\/a> said on the Rugby Unity<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentres and back-rowers are quite similar, particularly if they\u2019re playing in what\u2019s called an edge role outside the centre of the field. I just think it\u2019s the natural progression of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Ireland have all the power at World Rugby\u2019 \u2013 Eddie Jones\u2019 fumes after being forced to \u2018accept\u2019 Nations Championship \u2018inequality\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Versatility has become a vital part of the sport with fewer specialists in the game, particularly outside of the front five.<\/p>\n

Although props, hooker and locks have more specific roles, Jones claims that has been altered to some degree due to the likes of Will Skelton and Emmanuel Meafou in the second-row.<\/p>\n

The importance of ball carriers<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only places we don\u2019t get that change in position is in the front-row and the locks, which is unique to rugby in that we have a scrum which requires specialists at one, two and three, and then obviously locks in terms of lineout,\u201d the Japan head coach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut even France have changed that a little bit. You look at how they play, their back-rowers are basically their jumpers and their locks are their carriers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game of rugby has changed considerably that now in terms of the ball carries, it\u2019s become such an important part of the game in order to generate quick rugby speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always looking to see how you can improve your carrying in the team and the centres generally have better footwork and if they\u2019re a big guy, there\u2019s no reason why they can\u2019t play in the back-row.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether the hybrid role will force teams to make structural changes to the game plan or the team itself, Jones responded: \u201cNot greatly. We\u2019ve got a guy in Japan called Tiennan Costley, who\u2019s as quick as any winger but he plays in the back-row.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we start our campaigns with forwards and backs camps and he will spend a few days with the backs camp, which he enjoys \u2013 he doesn\u2019t get beaten up like the forwards do.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Starting Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku at flank in a Test would be \u2018unfair\u2019, claims ex-All Black as he pales in comparison to proven international<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eddie Jones believes that Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku\u2019s shift into the back-row is a \u201cnatural progression\u201d given how rugby has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[140886,20177,348,3482,620,50,5903,101,74606,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-559724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-crusaders","tag-eddie-jones","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}