Segner targets history with Blues as he faces former First XV captain Fainga'anuku

Anton Segner will line up at openside flanker when the Blues face the Crusaders in Christchurch in the Super Rugby Pacific qualifying finals, with the 24-year-old set to go head-to-head against Sevu Fainga’anuku — his First XV captain at school and the first friend he made after moving to New Zealand as a teenager. No team has beaten the Crusaders at their home ground during the knockout stages of the competition.

Segner has been handed the No.7 jersey in the continued absence of Dalton Papali’i, whose impending departure from the Blues has accelerated the Tasman product’s rise. Coming into the 2026 campaign, Segner had started at openside flanker just three times in four years for the club; he is now regarded as the long-term incumbent in the position.

Despite wearing No.7, Segner’s role spans all three loose forward positions. Since debuting for the Blues in 2022, he has started 24 times at blindside flanker and five times at No.8. His latest performance against the Chiefs saw him overtake lock Sam Darry as the Blues’ most-used lineout jumper this season, and he has two more lineout steals than the All Black second-row.

“I wear the number seven on my back, but my role, apart from what side of the scrum I’m on, doesn’t really change, because I’m still in the lineout and I still do everything that traditionally a six would do,” Segner told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

He acknowledged a preference for the openside role while embracing the hybrid demands now placed on modern loose forwards. “If I had to pick one, seven is pretty fun,” he said. “You’re a bit quicker to the first breakdown, and you can have a look at that a bit more, and obviously the defensive aspect — you’re involved around the collision more, which I enjoy.”

Blues coach Vern Cotter has continued to deploy Segner as a lineout option even at No.7, a reflection of how positional boundaries in the back row have blurred at the elite level. Segner agreed the roles had largely converged. “We’re hybrids, that’s for sure. We have to tackle, we have to run, we have to be good at set piece, we have to pass the ball and have all those skill sets.”

Segner’s name has also entered All Blacks bolter discussions ahead of the international window, adding further weight to a qualifying final that already carries personal significance. On facing Fainga’anuku, Segner was candid about the dynamic between the two: “He was always a bit jealous of me.”

The Blues will need to make history in Christchurch if they are to advance, with the Crusaders unbeaten at home across all previous Super Rugby playoff encounters.