Rugby: Unlucky dozen will get their chance to wear black again

All Blacks selector Grant Fox (right).

There was a clear message for the All Blacks who missed World Cup selection — their days in a black jersey are far from over.

Having assembled their 31-man squad charged with defending the Webb Ellis Cup, the All Blacks selectors took time this week to meet 12 players who were unable to secure selection.

That description — unselected — was stressed yesterday by Grant Fox, who insisted the unlucky dozen could never be called unwanted, not this week and certainly not with an eye to the future. "They're not unwanted," Fox told Newstalk ZB. "Thirty-one is all we're allowed and, therefore, some people have to miss out. But there's a good chance that a number of them will be back in black at some stage."

Included in that group were the odd men out in the crowded outside back picture, perhaps the toughest area of the team to whittle down. Both Israel Dagg and Charles Piutau were named by Fox as players who would likely be seen again in black, a possibility that might have appeared unlikely after the squad was picked last weekend.

Dagg appeared to call time on his career with an emotional tweet shortly after hearing the bad news but, having enjoyed a sit-down with selectors during the week, the 49-test veteran has since clarified those comments.

"That wasn't what Izzy intended but that's the way it came out," Fox said. "And that's a perfect example of why you don't have a conversation with them on the phone, because they are emotional.

"Izzy was great and he left [the meeting] with a very clear message. He understands what he has to do. And he's only 27. This is a bump in the road for him.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you see Israel Dagg on fire for Hawke's Bay this year, and there's every chance he'll be back in the All Blacks next year."

Piutau, on the other hand, will have to wait considerably longer for a return to that stage, but Foster hoped it would one day arrive. While the Blues fullback will take up a two-year contract at Ulster in July 2016, time is certainly still on the 23-year-old's side.

"Hopefully he'll come back better and restake his claim," Fox said. "Hopefully [the whole group] will go away thinking they've got hope, because that's certainly what they were left with — that their All Blacks careers aren't over, that there will be other opportunities."

With a host of senior players set to leave New Zealand rugby following the World Cup, that opportunity could come sooner rather than later for many of the men who missed out.

Only Andy Ellis, Cory Jane and Jeremy Thrush are on the wrong side of 30, meaning players like Nepo Laulala and George Moala have their whole careers ahead of them. And others, such as Ryan Crotty and Lima Sopoaga, hardly have to squint to see vacancies opening in their positions in 2016.

Of course, any of the 12 could instead be called on during the next seven weeks and, with injuries a reality of such an arduous campaign, that was another reason for an open and honest dialogue during the week.

"We're going to keep in touch, because anything could happen and we might need them on a bird," Fox said. "We need them to keep working on the things that are perhaps part of the reasons why they haven't made the group, so that if we do need them they're in better shape and we're going to get a better athlete."

Fox confirmed, however, that none of the 12 will venture to the UK unless they were called up.