One of the unlucky players to be cut from the All Blacks Rugby World Cup squad, Samipeni Finau has been backed for a huge future in the black jersey.
After impressing on test debut against the Wallabies on Saturday, the loose forward one of the players omitted for the France tournament next month, as coach Ian Foster trimmed his selection from 37 to 33.
This year has been a breakthrough campaign for Finau, 24. A standout season in Super Rugby Pacific with the Chiefs was rewarded with a maiden All Blacks call-up, recognising the Tongan-born flanker's immense promise at the highest level.
On Saturday, Finau put in 17 tackles - second only to captain Sam Cane - to go with a try and a turnover won, but with limited space available, he was the man to make way, with Cane, Ardie Savea, Shannon Frizell, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali'i selected ahead of him for the World Cup.
As far as the bigger picture is concerned, the door is by no means shut on him.
In 2024, the All Blacks will lose Savea and Frizell - both Japan-bound - leaving spots up for grabs among the loose forwards.
All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan has been a vocal admirer of Finau and insists this setback will not impact his future.
"I thought he played well," said Ryan of Finau's debut. "He built into the game as the game went on.
"To be fair, it's tough to leave any player out. He'll no doubt still be an All Black and he's got a pretty exciting career ahead of him, I'm pretty confident of that."
Despite the standard tradition of having two players in each position, the All Blacks are perhaps heading to France shorthanded in the loose forwards.
Selecting just five specialist loose forwards means the All Blacks must be careful, with rotation certain to come into play for pool matches against the likes of Italy, Uruguay and Namibia.
While the likes of Scott Barrett and Tupou Vaa'i can cover loose forward as well as the second row, the All Blacks selectors must be creative in managing their squad through the early stages of the tournament - especially with lock Brodie Retallick nursing a knee injury - but Ryan isn't worried.
"We're confident, because we've got some good versatility amongst them all," he continued. "A lot of them can play multiple positions.
"Someone like Luke Jacobson is very valuable for us. He's good durability and can cover all three [positions], for example."
