When players are chosen for the All Blacks for the first time, many express a desire to be a “good” All Black.
That doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a “great” All Black – but at least one remembered well by colleagues and fans alike, taking a prominent place amid the 1200-oddplayers able to call themselves by rugby’s most famous name.
It also means avoiding the dreaded one-test All Black tag. Professional rugby has produced more of these one-timers after the demise of traditional tours, which meant tests became the only way coaches and selectors could see how a player coped in international rugby.
Some are tried and never recalled, the exact situation North Harbour and Chiefs winger/fullback Shaun Stevenson now finds himself in. Stevenson is seeking an early release from his Chiefs contract to play in Japan after Welsh international Liam Williams suddenly left his Kubota club.
Shaun Stevenson dives over to score on debut. Photo / Photosport
Stevenson has been named in the Chiefs 2025 squad but, in All Black terms, finds himself behind several others – Will Jordan, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Ruben Love, Stephen Perofeta and test wings Caleb Clarke, Mark Telea and Sevu Reece.
Stevenson could potentially be a useful bench selection, with his ability to cover two positions but Jordie Barrett, for example, can also cover fullback. That’s a lot of talent to trump and, when Crusaders winger/fullback Chay Fihaki was called into Scott Robertson’s All Black squad as injury cover this season, Stevenson must have felt the wind from the door being closed on his test career.
With all due respect to Fihaki, Stevenson appeals as the more talented player. The word is that the All Blacks’ brains trust felt Stevenson’s defence is not his strongest suit. Maybe so, but the 28-year-old is an electric attacker, with a sidestep, a body shimmy and an ability to create and finish tries – priceless in these days of dominant defences, and a good alternative to power wingers.
Losing a player like this to a Japanese club is sad, though it is by no means certain New Zealand Rugby will allow his early release; it could be a precedent for others when the norm is for players to signal their move overseas well in advance, as Sam Cane and TJ Perenara did at the end of last year.
Also sad is the one-test tag. It carries, often unfairly, a sense of “not quite good enough” to onlookers, though among the ranks of the one-testers are several who were cruelly blocked by injury, concussion and the like. Midfielder Charlie Ngatai, fullback Ben Atiga and unlucky prop Ben Afeaki come to mind as some who would surely have had much longer All Black test careers.
All Blacks XV appearances may not be enough to keep Stevenson in New Zealand, writes Paul Lewis. Photo / Photosport
Stevenson’s one test came in the 2023 Bledisloe Cup test, when a stuttering display by the All Blacks saw them 14 points down to the Wallabies at halftime before turning matters around to win 23-20. Stevenson scored a try on debut and played well enough – but has not been required since.
Not that All Black selection is always required for a fulfilling rugby career. Warren Gatland and the amazing Jimmy Gopperth have enjoyed wide acclaim in Europe and internationally – and neither played a test for the All Blacks. Gopperth never wore the black jersey but has played hundreds of first-class games over 20 years, becoming the highest points scorer in Europe several times, racking up over 4000 points. Now 41, he is still playing for Provence in France, one of New Zealand rugby’s great success stories without actually playing for New Zealand.
Gatland’s coaching deeds (never mind his struggles with Wales now) have defined him after he famously played 17 matches for the All Blacks but zero tests as second choice to a seemingly indestructible bloke called Sean Fitzpatrick – who would rather have eaten razor blades than come off the field. The man who supplanted Gatland as the All Blacks’ number two No. 2, Graham Dowd, also saw a lot of the bench – playing only one test and that as an injury replacement not for Fitzpatrick but for prop Richard Loe.
These days Japan is often first choice for players departing overseas so it’s difficult to think of Stevenson building quite the same sort of career for himself as Gatland, Gopperth and Ngatai did (the latter going on to great things with Leinster and Lyon in Europe).
That just adds to the sadness of such a gifted player desiring to leave. By making this move, he has added to the likelihood of never being chosen for the All Blacks again. Want-away players are common in professional football, with contracts often torn up to let them go, but not in rugby. Few coaches will be willing to invest in selecting a player eager to leave, even if New Zealand Rugby decides against ending Stevenson’s contract.
It’s a shame – and perhaps wouldn’t have happened if Stevenson had been called into the All Blacks squad instead of Fihaki, both on tour with the All Blacks XV alongside the All Blacks, when Jordie Barrett was injured.
Fihaki is 23; he has heaps of time. He may yet turn out to be an All Black great, or even a good … but I can’t help feeling the All Blacks are really missing a trick by not keeping Stevenson in the fold.
