All Blacks rookie eyes possible debut

Uncapped Peter Lakai is en route to earning his way into the All Blacks starting side for Saturday’s test against Japan in Yokohama. And he’s got the best possible roommate to lean on should that happen.

The All Blacks squad is named at 4pm today with a different look expected to the starting lineout that was relatively settled over the last three rounds of the Rugby Championship, especially in the loose forwards.

Lakai was called in as cover, following injuries to Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder and Luke Jacobson.

The 21-year-old was getting ready to head to Wellington Lions training last Monday ahead of their semifinal with Waikato when Scott Robertson called him for his first All Blacks tour.

Instead of preparing for a home NPC final, he’s getting ready for a possible test call-up. He’s been leaning on the advice of Sam Cane this week, who has 100 test caps on him. That comes following two years of tutelage alongside Ardie Savea at the Hurricanes.

“I hover around guys in my position such as Ardie and Sam Cane. Sam Cane is my roomy so I get around him. Anything I’m unsure of he helps me out,” Lakai said.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity. Learning off a few older guys such as Sam, taking in some of his experience and taking my game to the next level.

“Ardie has been massive. He’s a great leader, especially for his actions. Anything he does, it’s quite easy to follow a guy like him. He’s quite influential.”

The last time the All Blacks played Japan, in 2022, coach Ian Foster made 12 changes to the starting side as they squeaked out a 38-31 victory.

A number of regular All Blacks starters will leave Japan on Friday before the test as they begin preparations for the following weekend’s test against England.

David Havili, who came off the bench in the 2022 win over Japan, said there will still be plenty of experience in the squad for Saturday’s game.

“There’s still going to be a lot of experience in the group and it’s about the young boys slotting in where they can and really nailing their role if they get the opportunity. We want to start the tour with a great win, and we’re going to need to have a great week in preparation to make sure we get that right first to allow us to do that.

“Japanese flair is what we’ve got to look out for this weekend. We know they like to play with the ball a lot, so we’re going to have take control there.”

All Blacks Northern Tour schedule
October 26, 6.50pm - All Blacks v Japan, Yokohama
November 3, 4.10am - All Blacks v England, Twickenham
November 9, 9.10am - All Blacks v Ireland, Dublin
November 17, 9.10am - All Blacks v France, Paris
November 24, 9.10am - All Blacks v Italy, Turin

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission