One-time All Black Shaun Stevenson is back from a brief stint in Japan and has offered a candid insight into his mindset as he weighs up his future options.
The short-term sabbatical came about as Stevenson reportedly looked to end his contract with New Zealand Rugby early to make a full-time shift to Japan’s League One.
A compromise was reached, and Stevenson was released temporarily, missing the opening three rounds of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season while suiting up for the Kubota Spears. The club were eager to land the 28-year-old’s signature after losing Wales star Liam Williams to injury.
The sabbatical allowed the star fullback room to breathe and consider his career in New Zealand with an outside perspective.
There are options for both club and country for a talent like Stevenson, with a relationship with the Kubota club and eligibility for Samoa once the mandatory three-year stand-down period is served since his last All Blacks Test, which was in 2023.
The key to any decision over his future will, of course, be Stevenson’s All Blacks selection prospects, something he’d like some more transparency over.
“I guess after last year, it was pretty disappointing,” Stevenson explained at Chiefs training ahead of their second final rematch of the year against the Blues.
“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”
All Blacks management deliver phone calls to both selected and unselected fringe talents, with the latter often receiving feedback on what the coaching group are looking for to help players reach their potential.
For Stevenson, a player in his prime who has been in the All Blacks conversation for several years now, he’d like to have a better understanding of where he stands “in the pecking order” after a “lack of feedback” from the selectors.
“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.
“New Zealand rugby is not going to be the whole time. So, I have to look after my future and my family and stuff.”
On the prospect of switching international allegiance to represent his Samoan heritage, Stevenson was undecided and waiting to see where certain chips would fall.
“Maybe, we’ll see, we’ll see. 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.”
