The All Blacks’ plan to turn a backline weapon into a full-time forward just hit a serious roadblock. Leicester Fainga’anuku, the 26-year-old hybrid player who spent the second half of the Super Rugby season lining up at openside flanker, will miss the next three months after breaking his leg in the Crusaders’ semifinal loss to the Chiefs.
Fainga’anuku left the field before halftime of that 49-12 beatdown. Dominic Gardiner took his place. But the real damage showed up in the medical report: a fibula fracture and a high ankle sprain. No surgery needed, but the Crusaders put his return window at 10 to 12 weeks. That timeline rules him out of the Nations Championship and puts his availability for the early Springboks tests in serious doubt.
This was supposed to be the summer where Fainga’anuku became something rugby hasn’t really seen at that level. Not just a winger or center who can tackle hard, but a genuine back-row option. He started his shift toward the forwards during a stint with Toulon in France, then the Crusaders took it all the way. They put him at openside flanker against the Waratahs in late April. He stayed there for five straight games, including playoff matches against the Blues and Chiefs.
What the All Blacks lose without him
Dave Rennie was expected to name Fainga’anuku in the All Blacks squad for the Nations Championship, which drops after the Super Rugby final between the Hurricanes and Chiefs. Now the team will face France, Italy, and Ireland without him. The South Africa series is the bigger question. The first three tests against the Springboks are reportedly in doubt for Fainga’anuku, and that’s where New Zealand really wanted to test his value.
Former All Blacks World Cup winner Stephen Donald laid out the reasoning back in May. He said a player like Fainga’anuku lets you run a 5-3 bench split instead of copying South Africa’s 6-2 forward-heavy approach. You keep the backline coverage but still have someone who can slot into the forwards if needed. Donald compared Fainga’anuku’s off-the-cuff play to what Ardie Savea did last year at Moana — a forward who can kick and create, which normally only midfielders do.
Starting at flanker for the All Blacks might have been a stretch this early. But as a utility option in the 23, he offered something nobody else in the squad could. That’s gone for now. Rennie will have to figure out plan B without the one guy who blurred the line between back and forward.
The recovery clock starts now. Fainga’anuku should be back by early September if everything goes right. That puts the latter half of the Springboks series in play, but the first three tests are a long shot. And by the time he’s healthy, he might have to prove again that the flanker experiment wasn’t just a Crusaders novelty act.
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