Overlooked by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, Hoskins Sotutu explored a move abroad last year but says he is now focusing on helping the struggling Auckland Blues turn their season around in Super Rugby Pacific.
The 26-year-old loose forward played the last of his 14 tests in 2022 and will be eligible to switch allegiance to either England or Fiji in November when he fulfils World Rugby’s three-year stand-down rule.
Sotutu won Super Rugby’s Player of the Year during the Blues’ championship season last year but was frustrated to miss out on a place in Robertson’s first All Blacks squads.
With a potential path to England through his mother, there was talk of a meeting between Sotutu and England coach Steve Borthwick to discuss a switch.
Sotutu denied having any direct conversation with Borthwick but said his agent had been put to work.
“When I didn’t make the All Blacks last year, the immediate reaction was to explore and think about it,” Sotutu told the New Zealand Herald.
“I can’t say I had a chat (with Borthwick), but my agent went to work and explored options.”
While missing out on the All Blacks, Sotutu was offered a place in the second-tier All Blacks XV squad for matches against Munster and Georgia last November.
He pulled out of the tour to have knee surgery and may have missed another chance to return for New Zealand when injuries struck Robertson’s squad.
In Sotutu’s absence, loose forwards Peter Lakai and Du’Plessis Kirifi were called up to the All Blacks squad, with Lakai playing against Japan and France on the season-ending tour of the Northern Hemisphere.
Sotutu is under contract with New Zealand Rugby through to the end of 2026 but said he had not had much “chat” with All Blacks staff.
“The All Blacks is something I can’t control. I don’t even think about it that much anymore,” added the Blues number eight.
“At the beginning of my career, I put pressure on myself for that, but now I’m more focused on the Blues in that sense.”
Coming off a bye round, the defending champion Blues are second-bottom on the table with one win from their first six games as they head into Saturday’s home match against the Hurricanes.
They will hope to have Sotutu at his best to turn things round.
“We need to find our mojo again and get some belief back in the group,” he said.
