Fehi Fineanganofo has finally achieved his childhood dream of becoming an All Black.Whether he remains one beyond this year is far less certain.The Hurricanes winger was one of four debutants named in Dave Rennie's first All Blacks squad on Monday, following a record-equalling Super Rugby Pacific campaign. But with the 23-year-old set to take up a contract with Newcastle in December, his long-term future in New Zealand rugby remains unclear.Fineanganofo signed with the English Premiership club before the season began, long before he exploded into All Blacks contention with a record-equalling haul of 17 tries.The timing leaves him available for the Rugby Championship and the All Blacks' historic tour to South Africa, but what comes after that remains unclear.World Rugby rules stipulate that NZ Rugby officials cannot interfere with the contract process, with Fineanganofo needing to decide for himself whether to honour it.Media reports have suggested Rennie has held discussions with Fineanganofo about potentially remaining in New Zealand, although the national body has maintained it is not involved in any contract negotiations.Rennie was reluctant to speculate on the young winger's future on Monday at the official team naming in Feilding."What we know is he's available until November so we picked him on that basis. He deserves it."Dave Rennie unveiled his first All Blacks squad in Feilding on Monday.RNZ / Baz MacdonaldFineanganofo was equally guarded when asked whether his future remains in New Zealand."I'll leave that to my agent. I trust that he's going to deal with that."For now, though, the focus is on a dream years in the making.Growing up at Auckland Grammar, Fineanganofo was surrounded by reminders of the path he hoped one day to follow. The school has produced more All Blacks than any other in the country, and their legacy left a lasting impression on the young winger."Being a Grammar boy, I saw all the All Blacks boys that used to go to Grammar. It's kind of just been a dream ever since going there and yeah, I just want to make my family proud. So yeah, pretty special for me."Fineanganofo was one of four players selected for their first All Blacks squad, joining Hurricanes teammates Xavier Numia and Josh Moorby, and Blues loose forward Anton Segner.Segner became the first Germany-born player selected for the All Blacks and admitted he couldn't wait for daylight to reach Europe before sharing the news."Straight after I got off the phone to Dave actually, I rang home. It was four o'clock in the morning there, but after that my mum, dad and my brothers couldn't go back to sleep. They were pretty excited, but still got up at, I think it's 2am in Germany now, to watch this just to make sure that it's real and not a dream."The 24-year-old moved to Nelson as a teenager and quickly emerged as one of the country's most promising young forwards while attending Nelson College.Having first picked up a rugby ball as a 10-year-old in Germany during the buzz of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Segner hopes his journey can inspire others from non-traditional rugby nations."I started playing as a 10-year-old back in Germany. That was back in 2011 when the World Cup was over here. So watching the haka and getting up to watch every game back then, being able to be a part of this team now is ... I mean it's cliché for a reason because it's true. But I don't think words can do it justice," he said."Obviously with me coming over here and giving rugby a crack in New Zealand, one of my intentions is to inspire the younger generation - not just within New Zealand but especially from Germany and other non-rugby nations where rugby isn't as big as it is here."Hopefully with what I'm doing over here, and what Fabian [Holland, the first Dutch All Black] is doing as well, we can inspire a few other young kids to come to New Zealand and give it a crack. I've experienced now that if you have the will to do something and you commit to it, then anything's possible."Moorby arrives in the national squad after quietly producing a season every bit as prolific as Fineanganofo's.While much of the spotlight fell on his Hurricanes teammate, Moorby steadily accumulated tries throughout the campaign before drawing level with Fineanganofo's record-equalling tally of 17 with a double in the Super Rugby final.The outside back took a more traditional approach to informing his family of his selection."I rang my partner straight away and I actually hadn't told my family, my mum and dad or my brother and sister. I just thought I'd leave it to the old-fashioned style and they could find out just now. So it was pretty hard to keep a few lies up from what I was doing today. So yeah, my phone's off."Of Ngāti Maniapoto descent, Moorby's path to the black jersey took him through Southland, Northland, Waikato and Montpellier."I am truly grateful and honoured to be sitting here."Numia's reaction was equally emotional."I was pretty lost for words to be honest when I got the phone call. The first people I called were obviously my parents. Shed a few tears with them and said how much that means."After a standout season anchoring the Hurricanes scrum alongside Asafo Aumua and Pasilio Tosi, Numia said his focus had simply been on enjoying his rugby."My main focus was just trying to perform the best I could for the Hurricanes, just enjoying my rugby and I guess just being unapologetically myself. So that was the main focus for me. Big ups to Clark Laidlaw and the coaching management."All Blacks squad:Outside backs: Leroy Carter, Caleb Clarke, Fehi Fineanganofo, Will Jordan, Josh MoorbyMidfield: Jordie Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Billy Proctor, Quinn TupaeaFirst-fives: Beauden Barrett, Ruben Love, Damian McKenzieHalfbacks: Kyle Preston, Cortez Ratima, Cam RoigardLoose forwards: Luke Jacobson, Peter Lakai, Simon Parker, Ardie Savea, Anton Segner, Wallace SititiLocks: Sam Darry, Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa'iProps: George Bower, Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Xavier Numia, Pasilio TosiHookers: Asafo Aumua, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Codie TaylorNations Championship schedule4 July, vs France, Christchurch11 July, vs Italy, Wellington18 July, vs Ireland, Auckland
After All Blacks breakthrough Fehi Fineanganofo faces a defining choice
Fehi Fineanganofo has finally achieved his childhood dream of becoming an All Black.












