Heart of dream team
West Auckland. Cribb played
15 tests before falling out of favour in 2001 because of injuries and form and moved to Japan for the rest of his career from
2003-09.
7. Richie McCaw (c) (North Otago) – born, Oamaru; last school, Otago Boys’ High. All Blacks tests: 148 (2001-15). Arguably the greatest All Black of all time, McCaw was brought up in North Otago’s Hakataramea Valley before he went to Otago Boys’ High, then Lincoln University near Christchurch.
The legendary openside flanker, who finished as rugby’s most-capped test player, captained the All Blacks to successive World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015 and was also hugely successful with the Crusaders and Canterbury.
6. Jackson Hemopo (Wanganui) – born, Wanganui; last school, Palmerston North Boys’ High. All Blacks tests: 3 (2018). Adept at flanker and lock, Hemopo has shown great promise since first appearing in Super Rugby with the Highlanders in 2015 and the
25-year-old played the first of his three tests against France earlier this year. Hemopo was born in Wanganui before finishing his education at Palmerston North Boys’ and he has represented Manawatu¯ since 2016 after playing for Otago from 2012-15.
5. Keith Robinson (Thames Valley) – born, Te Aroha; last school, Te Aroha College. All Blacks tests: 12 (2002-07). Robinson appeared infrequently for the All Blacks before injury troubles ended his career prematurely in 2007 when the former Chiefs lock was 30.
As well as representing Taranaki (2000-01) and Waikato (2002-07), Robinson played for his home province from 1998-99 after emerging from Te Aroha College. His Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs followed in 2001.
4. Dion Waller (King Country) – born, Turangi; last school, Tauhara College. All Blacks tests: 1 (2001).
Waller’s first provincial years were with King Country from
1995-96 before a two-year spell with the now-defunct Central Vikings.
Having played for the Hurricanes from 1996-2002, the Turangi lock joined Wellington in 1999 and, in a career that concluded with spells in Japan and Italy, his one test was against Argentina in 2001.
3. Atu Moli (Poverty Bay) – born, Gisborne; last school, Marlborough Boys’ College. All Blacks matches: 1 (2017). Moli was born in Gisborne and then attended Marlborough Boys’ College in Blenheim while representing Marlborough and Tasman in the junior grades.
The 23-year-old, who captained New Zealand’s world champion under-20s in 2015, later shifted to Waikato and his Chiefs debut followed in 2016 before he played once for the All Blacks last year in a midweek match against a French XV. His career has since stalled because of a freakish leg injury in March.
2. Dane Coles (HorowhenuaKa¯ piti) – born, Paraparaumu; last school, Wellington College. All Blacks tests 60 (2012-18).
Coles was widely considered the world’s best hooker around the time the All Blacks won the World Cup in 2015 but injuries in recent years have significantly limited his playing time.
The 32-year-old, who captained the Hurricanes to their maiden Super Rugby title in 2016, was hoping to return from a knee injury this year for Horowhenua-Ka¯ piti in the Heartland Championship but it never materialised, so he was back in black for Wellington and then the All Blacks on their recent northern tour.
1. Carl Hoeft (Thames Valley) – born, Auckland; last school, Te Aroha College. All Blacks tests: 30 (1998-2003).
Hoeft was part of Thames Valley’s squad that won the old third division in 1995 after making his debut for the province the previous year. The former Highlanders prop played at World Cups in 1999 and 2003 and now coaches at Japanese club Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars.