Rennie admits Darry is 'unlucky' as All Blacks lock depth forces him out of tour squad

Sam Darry has been left out of the All Blacks’ 36-man Nations Championship squad for the end-of-year Northern Tour, with head coach Dave Rennie acknowledging the Canterbury lock is “unlucky” to miss out after a strong run of form at Test level.

Darry started three of New Zealand’s first Tests under Rennie, including the final two matches of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against South Africa, and returned to impress for Canterbury in the Hilux NPC — helping his province to a title victory over Northland at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch. Despite that form, his provincial teammate Jamie Hannah was preferred for both the recent Bledisloe Cup series and Tuesday’s tour squad announcement.

The two locks had lined up together for Canterbury in the NPC final on Labour Day Monday, but only Hannah earned a call-up. Rennie, speaking to media at the All Blacks’ Auckland hotel on Tuesday, said the lock positions were among the hardest selections to make.

“Yeah, look, he’s unlucky because he’s played a lot of good footy for us, and that was a message to him,” Rennie said. “We’ve just got amazing depth in that position all of a sudden, obviously with Scooter coming back, and then the quality of the other locks that we got there.”

Rennie was direct in his praise for Hannah as the man who edged out Darry. “We really like Jamie Hannah. Good athlete, really good lineout forward, runs the lineout well, and he’s got a bit of a dark side around carry, clean, tackle. So yeah, look, it’s tough on Sam. It would probably be the most competitive spot in our side, and he’s really unlucky to miss out.”

Beyond the selection debate, Rennie used the media briefing to outline the mindset heading into the four-Test Northern Tour. The All Blacks were left frustrated after the South Africa series, and the head coach said the response can only come through performances on the field.

“The focus is just getting better, and we’re really disappointed post South Africa, but the only way you can respond is through performance,” he said. “There’s strong competition for places, and that helps as well.”

Rennie pointed to the first half of the Sydney Bledisloe fixture as a benchmark, while acknowledging the team left opportunities behind early in the second half — a standard he expects the squad to build on during the tour.