Reuters
[ Source: Reuters ]
Overlooked by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, Hoskins Sotutu explored a move abroad last year but says he is now focusing on helping the struggling Auckland Blues turn their season around in Super Rugby Pacific.
The 26-year-old loose forward played the last of his 14 tests in 2022 and will be eligible to switch allegiance to either England or Fiji in November when he fulfils World Rugby’s three-year stand-down rule.
Sotutu won Super Rugby’s Player of the Year during the Blues’ championship season last year but was frustrated to miss out on a place in Robertson’s first All Blacks squads.
With a potential path to England through his mother, there was talk of a meeting between Sotutu and England coach Steve Borthwick to discuss a switch.
Sotutu denied having any direct conversation with Borthwick but said his agent had been put to work.
“When I didn’t make the All Blacks last year, the immediate reaction was to explore and think about it,” Sotutu told the New Zealand Herald.
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