All Blacks snub coy on future after ‘disappointing’ feedback from Scott Robertson
Debutant Shaun Stevenson scores his first Test try for New Zealand against Australia in Dunedin.
Chiefs flyer Shaun Stevenson remains coy on his future beyond this season and has addressed the possibility of switching international allegiances.
Stevenson missed the opening three rounds of the Chiefs’ 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season after joining Japanese Rugby League One side the Kubota Spears.
He played six times for the club scoring twice and assisting four tries before returning to the Chiefs ahead of the clash against the Fijian Drua coming off the bench for the side in the 28-24 defeat.
Reports in December last year stated that Stevenson was considering his future in New Zealand and was in talks with the Spears to make a permanent move to Japan.
Disappointing All Blacks feedback
However, New Zealand Rugby held firm and eventually granted him a release on a short-term basis but with his contract expiring at the end of the season, there is still doubt about whether he will remain in New Zealand.
The 28-year-old has played just once for the All Blacks, debuting against Australia ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup but has been left in the dark by the new coaching staff.
Scott Robertson did not call the Chiefs’ outside back into any of his squads in 2024 even after another impressive Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
The lack of feedback from the All Blacks coaching team has not only left Stevenson frustrated but also weighing up his options with a return to Japan being a possibility as is a code switch.
“I guess after last year it was pretty disappointing,” he told RNZ at the Chiefs training on Thursday.
“I think the disappointing thing was just the feedback in terms of where I was sitting and, you know, I can’t help or change that. So, you know, I’ve got to do what’s best for myself and for my family. That’s just part of footy, right? So just got to keep moving forward.”
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The lure of representing the All Blacks is still there for Stevenson but he admits that Japan has opened his eyes.
“I mean, obviously I’m a one-test All Black, you can’t take that away from myself. I guess being up in Japan, you kind of think about a lot of things around outside of footy, you open your eyes up to a lot more things when you’re in New Zealand compared to when you’re in Japan,” he added.
“New Zealand rugby is not going to be the whole time. So, I have to look after my future and my family and stuff.”
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Switching codes or?allegiances?
On the prospect of making a code switch to rugby league, Stevenson added “never say never” as he also remained coy about a potential allegiance switch to Samoa.
If he remains a one-cap All Black, Stevenson will be eligible to swap New Zealand for Samoa through World Rugby’s Birthright Transfer regulation.
“Maybe, we’ll see, we’ll see,” he stated.
“I’m not sure if they got the coaching staff sorted at the moment. So, I mean, that’s not a no. So we’ll see what happens. And obviously, World Cup in a couple of years, so, we’ll see what happens here.”
