Hoskins Sotutu on All Blacks omission and potential England switch

By Liam Napier

Frustrated at the All Blacks overlooking his compelling form last year, Hoskins Sotutu explored the prospect of moving to England. Now, as he continues his comeback from knee surgery amid a disrupted start to this season, the Blues No 8 has put test rugby aspirations on the backburner to focus on reviving his side’s teetering title defence.

As the competition’s joint leading try-scorer, second-highest offloader and the Blues’ best lineout forward, Sotutu was named last year’s Super Rugby Pacific MVP as Vern Cotter’s side broke their 18-year title drought.

The All Blacks weren’t impressed, though, preferring to largely stick with the tried and true, with Wallace Sititi the sole new cap among the loose forwards in Scott Robertson’s maiden squad.

While Sititi proved a revelation, progressing to claim the All Blacks player of the year and World Rugby breakthrough awards, Sotutu’s ongoing lack of recognition sparked a desire to explore his options.

“The MVP award was a big surprise for me – it’s a big award in any competition,” Sotutu told the Herald this week as the Blues prepare to welcome back six injured players, including Beauden Barrett, for a potentially season-defining match against the Hurricanes at Eden Park on Saturday night.

“Around my group and the Blues, they all congratulated me and made me feel important, but you can’t please everybody. That’s just the way it is,” Sotutu said.

“When I didn’t make the All Blacks last year, the immediate reaction was to explore and think about it.”

Multiple clubs, with Gloucester said to be leading the charge, were believed to be interested in luring him north.

Reports from the UK claimed Sotutu spoke with England head coach Steve Borthwick about switching international allegiance, too, as he qualifies through his mother – and for Fiji through his father, Waisake Sotutu.

“I can’t say I had a chat [to Borthwick], but my agent went to work and explored options,” Sotutu said.

In an olive branch of sorts, Sotutu was selected in the second-tier All Blacks XV squad for matches against Munster and Georgia last November. With injuries striking down Dalton Papali’i, Luke Jacobson and Ethan Blackadder, Sotutu may have been called into Robertson’s All Blacks squad.

As it transpired, Sotutu pulled out of that tour to undergo surgery – the second operation on the same knee. Hurricanes loose forwards Peter Lakai and Du’Plessis Kirifi joined Robertson’s squad, with Lakai impressing against France in Paris.

After claiming the last of his 14 tests in 2022, Sotutu is eligible, under World Rugby’s three-year stand-down criteria, to switch international allegiance to another nation in November.

He is, however, contracted to New Zealand Rugby through to the end of 2026. Despite suggestions otherwise, the 26-year-old has no break clause in his contract and would, therefore, need to be granted an early release to join a team abroad.

Long-term, Sotutu is too talented to be wasted in international exile, but, for now, he isn’t going anywhere.

“November is quite far away, so I’m focusing on the Blues, especially when we’re five losses down.

“I am happy here. I love the Blues. The two teams I’m guaranteed to play for are the Blues and Counties. That’s at the forefront of my mind.”

Sotutu is casting aside All Blacks selection setbacks and future options to commit to helping the Blues dig themselves out of their 1-5 hole.

“The All Blacks is something I can’t control. I don’t even think about it that much anymore. At the beginning of my career, I put pressure on myself for that, but now I’m more focused on the Blues in that sense.”

All Blacks management indicated last year they wanted more off-the-ball workrate contributions from Sotutu, but it appears contact from them has been minimal of late.

With Sititi – once he returns from knee surgery at the back end of the Super season – Ardie Savea, Lakai, Jacobson and Blackadder all capable of playing No 8, there’s no shortage of contenders for Sotutu to push past into Robertson’s reckoning.

“I can’t say I’ve had too much chat with them, but they’ve sort of just said that everybody is in the picture. That’s the case in New Zealand where, I guess, if you play well enough, you’ll make the team.

“Coming into this year, I knew I was playing for the Blues. I was focused on that and getting another result here. It’s nothing I haven’t faced before; I haven’t made the All Blacks for a few years, so it’s nothing new.”

With recovery from surgery and a two-match suspension for a high tackle against the Hurricanes restricting him to three appearances, Sotutu hopes to pick his moments to influence contests and regain consistency in the second half of the season as the Blues return from the bye seeking to revive their flagging playoff hopes.

“I put pressure on myself to carry momentum from last year. That’s been challenging with the injury and the red card. Good players are able to play well every week, so I’m trying to perform for the Blues.

“We’ve fallen into the trap of trying to force things at times and putting pressure on ourselves, and we’re not coming up with the results. We need to find our mojo again and get some belief back in the group.”

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