As the All Blacks and All Blacks XV prepare to head north for their end-of-year tour, one player who will be left to consider his place in the national setup is Pita Gus Sowakula.
The loose forward had a breakout season with the Chiefs in Super Rugby in 2022 and was afforded his debut call-up to the national side in June.
However, two appearances off the bench mark the extent of Sowakula’s international career to date after missing selection in both the Rugby Championship and upcoming Northern Tour.
While many have speculated the reasons for Sowakula’s omission, All Blacks scrum coach Jason Ryan set the record straight, saying there is always a possibility for his return in future.
“Look, I don’t think the door is ever closed for any player when they’re playing in New Zealand rugby,” Ryan told SENZ Mornings.
“I mean, it shouldn’t be.”
Ryan explained that the wealth of competition for loose forward positions was all that separated Sowakula from a return to the jersey, saying that based on form, other players were better suited to the upcoming tour.
“I had a good chat to Neil Barnes, the Taranaki coach, and obviously Pita Gus was selected in the All Blacks before the new regime as such came in,” Ryan continued.
“We just thought for this tour and for the boys who’ve been playing well first and foremost for the All Blacks, but then (also) the second crew coming through that the form was a little bit better.
“We just had to look at that and I know that there has been a little bit of talk around that and you know, potentially he’s missed the opportunity to play for his country in Fiji in the World Cup, but that’s really out of our control to be fair.
“We’ve got to pick the best team for this end-of-year tour and the best New Zealand XV team and we believe we’ve done that.”
With Taranaki’s NPC season complete, Sowakula will now enjoy some time away from the game before returning to pre-season with the Chiefs where he will hope he can set himself up for another huge year of Super Rugby.