Three Former All Blacks Headline Samoa's Nations Cup Squad After Allegiance Switches

Samoa have named a 30-man squad for November's World Rugby Nations Cup headlined by three former All Blacks who have completed switches of Test allegiance. Akira Ioane, the 21-cap back-rower who last played for New Zealand in 2022 and featured for the All Blacks XV on the 2023 tour of Japan, is the most experienced of the trio and now plays his club rugby for the Kintetsu Liners in Japan. He is joined by half-back Josh Ioane, All Black number 1185, who won two caps in 2021 and now turns out for Connacht in the United Rugby Championship, and full-back Shaun Stevenson, a one-cap All Black who scored a try on debut against Australia in a 2023 World Cup warm-up and left the Chiefs for the Kubota Spears after the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season. The three are among eight uncapped players in the squad, alongside names such as Clermont midfielder AJ Lam, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Irae Simone and Chris Gabriel, while former Wallabies prop Scott Sio continues the trend of experienced internationals switching to the Pacific nation. Samoa open their campaign against Zimbabwe on November 7 before meeting Portugal and Spain — all three opponents, like Samoa, are building toward the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.