This expanded web edition supersedes the 49-player count in the original Instagram graphic. The current map separates 54 recently selected capped players, eight earlier capped domestic options and 12 uncapped programme players or selected prospects.
Explore the player pool.
NEW ZEALAND · 2026-10-207 players shown · 54 in this cohort · lock
| Player | Role | National Tests | 2026 Tests | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Barrett ↗ | Primary | 91 | 2 | No injury claim |
| Patrick Tuipulotu ↗Reported injured | Primary | 59 | 3 | Reported injured |
| Tupou Vaa'i ↗ | Cover | 53 | 8 | No injury claim |
| Josh Lord ↗ | Primary | 18 | 6 | No injury claim |
| Fabian Holland ↗ | Primary | 16 | 4 | No injury claim |
| Sam Darry ↗ | Primary | 12 | 4 | No injury claim |
| Jamie Hannah ↗ | Primary | 1 | 1 | No injury claim |
The bar beneath each name represents national Test caps on a shared 0–153 scale. Uncapped players have no filled bar.
What do these groups mean?
Recent = capped players selected in senior All Blacks programmes in 2025 or 2026. Earlier = eight earlier capped domestic options. Uncapped = a separate, selected programme/prospect group.
Role counts overlap. A reported injury is a dated source-backed status; no injury claim is a statement about this record, rather than a medical declaration of fitness. Every player page links to its sources.
Count people before positional options
This web edition separates three groups: 54 capped players selected in senior All Blacks programmes during 2025 or 2026, eight earlier capped players active in New Zealand professional rugby, and 12 uncapped programme players or selected prospects. The capped pool therefore contains 62 different people. Positional cover can create more entries, but it cannot create more people.
That distinction matters when reading a depth chart. A player covering lock and blindside is an option in both places, yet selecting him in one role removes him from the other. Adding every column is not a measure of how many independent replacements are available. The explorer keeps primary roles and supported cover visible while allowing you to inspect the names beneath each count.
The latest 23 is not the national pool
Sam Darry and Noah Hotham illustrate why the most recent matchday selection cannot silently define the wider group. A player’s earlier national selection remains relevant to a depth analysis even when he is absent from the latest team sheet. Earlier squads, replacements and named in-season cover belong in the research.
The first filter shows the recently selected capped cohort. The earlier-capped filter then brings a different question into view: which experienced domestic players remain part of the wider discussion despite not belonging to that recent selection group? Their inclusion is a dated scope decision, not a prediction that they will be recalled.
Selection and participation are separate
A call-up does not automatically become a Test appearance. Ofa Tu’ungafasi belongs in the recent selection cohort, while an announced reserve place later changed before a non-Test match cannot be counted as a completed appearance. Each player’s Test involvement is therefore kept separate from the reason he enters the pool.
The same separation applies to uncapped players. Bradley Slater’s senior non-Test involvement provides programme context without turning it into a national Test cap. The map’s zero-cap label has a precise meaning. It does not erase club rugby, age-grade rugby or senior fixtures that were not capped Tests.
Availability changes the picture again
Sixteen capped players in this edition have confirmed injury reports, representing 521 national Test caps. That is experience associated with reported absences, not a forecast of when those players will return. The status date belongs with the figure.
Use the availability filter to inspect reported injured players, then return to the full cohort. An absence of a confirmed report is not a medical declaration of fitness. Depth, current availability and future eligibility remain separate questions, even when all three matter to a selector.
The pathway belongs beside the map
The uncapped group is shown separately so that a prospect’s evidence can be read on its own terms. Some have senior national programme involvement; others enter a deliberately selected watchlist through documented club or age-grade credentials. It is not a census of every uncapped professional in the country.
Each player links to a dated reference page with the recorded role, national Test count and sources. Those pages also lead back to the relevant article and country. The aim is a map you can question and navigate, rather than a collection of impressive totals with no route to the people behind them.
Sources & methodology · 3 references
This story draws on our dated research edition. Figures are factual aggregates; prose and visualisations are original. Follow the source links to inspect the underlying reporting.
- All Blacks: national player profiles ↗
- All Blacks: 2025 All Blacks XV selection ↗
- All Blacks: 2026 Bledisloe squad ↗
Who is behind the depth map?
Open a dated player record, inspect the sources and return to his position.
Open the player directory