NZ Rugby appear to have pulled the rabbit out of the hat by keeping hold of Hurricanes star Fehi Fineanganofo, according to a report in New Zealand.
It was announced in January that the wing had signed a contract with Newcastle Red Bulls, which would see the speedster leave for the PREM and rule him out of the Rugby World Cup.
That deal did not attract too much attention at the time but, after a storming start to the campaign, concerns began to grow that the All Blacks were potentially losing one of the most gifted wide players in the world.
Equalled Super Rugby record
Fineanganofo has continued to impress since then and recently equalled the Super Rugby try-scoring record of 16.
However, host of the GBRANZ podcast Andy Rowe is claiming that the 23-year-old will now renege on his Newcastle deal and stay in New Zealand, making him available for the national team.
“I have woken up this morning to some news, and it’s good news for New Zealand rugby fans and Hurricanes fans, and terrible news for the Newcastle fans,” Rowe told Sport Nation.
“My sources on the ground in Newcastle are telling me they’re very, very upset that the deal is off.
“My understanding from the way that the news was leaked to me from Newcastle was they were very upset that New Zealand Rugby had – quote, unquote – blocked the deal.
“New Zealand Rugby Union have done what we all hoped they’d do, pulled some strings, done a Waisake Naholo and said: ‘Mate, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be in the All Blacks squad, so stick around, we’ll give you a black jersey and we’ll give you a long-term contract’.”
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It was recently revealed by New Zealand Herald that NZ Rugby were still working behind the scenes on the Fineanganofo situation and that could well have paid off.
Earlier in the month, Hurricanes coach Cory Jane, who has worked closely with the wing over the past two seasons, put pressure on the governing body by urging them to step in.
‘Get him out of his deal’
“New Zealand need to do something. They might not even look at him to be an All Black and then fair enough, let him go, but if they’re looking at him being an All Black, they’ve got to try and do something to get him out of his deal,” Jane told Sport Nation.
“He chose to go over there and he chose early, but he has his why – family and all that stuff – and he wants to provide, and that’s fair to him.
“[But] if New Zealand want him to stay…
“It’s a decision that he made and I haven’t tried to sit there and go, ‘you need to get out of it’ or ‘you’re going to be an All Black now’ because what good is that going to do.
“I did, however, just look at him when he went into the changing room and said: ‘Well played’, and then said: ‘You might have to see if you can get out of that deal’, but that was it.”
READ MORE: Cory Jane urges NZ Rugby to step in as All Blacks set to lose out on Super Rugby’s hottest prospect
