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Sport Nation
Gisborne: Planned outages Tue-WedOtago prodigy Pledger left out of Joseph's All Blacks XV squad
Sport Nation • October 14th, 2025 11:30 am
Dylan Pledger | Photo: Photosport
The All Blacks XV squad for their 2025 European tour has been announced and it features one glaring omission.
Otago halfback Dylan Pledger - a player whose absence in the All Blacks' northern tour squad was widely bemoaned - has missed out on selection for Jamie Joseph's 30-strong group.
Ahead of him in the pecking order at No. 9 are Hawke's Bay stand-out Folau Fakatava alongside 2025 All Black squad members Kyle Preston and Xavier Roe.
David Havili is the veteran among the group - whose average age is 25 years - and while no captain has been named, is the frontrunner to be appointed captain, part of a midfield group with longtime teammate Braydon Ennor and Taranaki's Daniel Rona.
Another with plenty of All Blacks experience is Dalton Papali'i, who is part of a loose forward group that includes the likes of Otago's Christian Lio-Willie and Devan Flanders from Hawke's Bay.
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Taranaki star has been rewarded for his rich form with selection as one of two first-fives with Northland's Rivez Reihana.
Back to full fitness, Caleb Tangitau is part of a powerful crew of outside backs with Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Chay Fihaki and Etene Nanai-Seturo.
The team will play two matches in England, against the Barbarians and England A, and a third match against Uruguay.
"A core purpose of this team is to develop and promote players through to the next level," said Joseph, who will be assisted by Jamie Mackintosh, David Hill, and Cory Jane.
"No doubt some of these players will progress on to the All Blacks in future years and if that’s the case we will have done our job. The core focus in the short term will be heading North to represent the black jersey and win three games in Europe."
All Blacks XV squad 2025:
Hookers: Brodie McAlister, Jack Taylor, Bradley Slater
Props: George Dyer, Josh Fusitua , Benet Kumeroa, Siale Lauaki, Xavier Numia
Locks: Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Josh Beehre, Isaia Walker-Leawere
Loose forwards: Kaylum Boshier, Devan Flanders, Te Kamaka Howden, Christian Lio-Willie, Dalton Papali’i, Sean Withy
Halfbacks: Folau Fakatava, Kyle Preston, Xavier Roe
First-fives: Josh Jacomb, Rivez Reihana
Midfield: Braydon Ennor, David Havili, Dallas McLeod, Daniel Rona
Outside backs: Chay Fihaki, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Caleb Tangitau
Tour schedule (NZT):
Sunday, November 2 - vs Barbarians, Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford - 2:15am
Sunday, November 9 - vs England A, The Recreational Ground, Bath - 2.15am
Sunday, November - vs Uruguay - venue and kick-off time TBC
