All Blacks utility back Leicester Fainga’anuku has revealed that he is happy to “play anywhere” for the Crusaders after Super Rugby Pacific’s defending champions selected him on the openside flank in their recent matches.
Crusaders head coach Rob Penney sprung a surprise for his side’s Super Round fixture against the Waratahs by naming Fainga’anuku, who usually plies his trade on the wing or at centre, in the number seven jersey.
Penny’s gamble paid off as the Crusaders clinched a 35-20 triumph with Fainga’anuku delivering a fine all-round performance and he crossed for one of his team’s tries.
That selection call dominated the build-up and reaction to that encounter as it was the first time that the All Blacks star lined up amongst the forwards in New Zealand, although he had enjoyed cameos in that role during his time with Top 14 outfit Toulon between 2023 and 2025.
Following the win against the Waratahs, Fainga’anuku retained his position in the Crusaders’ starting line-up for their next match against the Hurricanes in Wellington last weekend and although his side suffered a 38-31 defeat to Super Rugby Pacific‘s table-toppers, he shone again and his efforts were rewarded with another try.
After impressing against the Waratahs and Hurricanes, the 26-year-old is expected to line up in that position again when the Crusaders host the Blues in Christchurch on Friday and he is happy to do that.
“I’ll play anywhere really, I don’t mind,” Fainga’anuku told 1News on Tuesday. “At this stage I might find myself at halfback next week.
“That’s all up to the coaches. I just do the job.
“Whatever they want I put my hand up for it.”
Meanwhile, Crusaders forwards coach Dan Perrin is happy with how the experiment of playing the 12-cap All Blacks back in the forwards is going and praised Fainga’anuku’s versatility and ability to learn on the job.
“He’s an impressive footballer and human isn’t he?” he said. “Keeping it nice and simple at set piece time [is key]. I think he’s picked it up awesomely.
“His effort around the field on phase play on both attack and defence is phenomenal. To jump into a No.7 jersey where you hardly get a chance to breathe in 80 minutes is a real testament to him and he’s hungry for more.
“He jumped in the lineout last week and is talking to the props at scrum time and giving them a bit of advice now as well. He’s a fast learner and knows the pictures he’s looking for.
“Whatever is in front of him for that week he’s all in on it.”
Hybrid players, who can cover the backline and forwards off the replacements bench, are rare in the game but teams have started to trial it more often and do so with some success.
Andre Esterhuizen has played in both the midfield and back-row for the Springboks while Ben Earl has filled in at centre for England.
Perrin revealed that Fainga’anuku is not under pressure to focus on one position.
“I can see him doing both and being really successful at it,” he said.
Fainga’anuku admits that playing amongst the forwards is not a simple exercise but he is working hard to make a success of it.
“I hope I’m doing a good job. It’s not an easy job to slip in there at loose forward in a massive role – keeping in mind you don’t want to let the big boys down,” he said.
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He revealed that learning forward moves, including lineout calls, as well as backline plays, takes lots of preparation but it’s “something I enjoy and pride myself on. I was joking with the boys earlier saying I’ve been in the forwards for two weeks, but it feels like I’ve been there my whole career.
“The body is still slowly getting conditioned to it. In the backs you do a lot of running but in the forwards there’s a lot of contact and obviously a lot of rucks. I try to find a little bit of space to have a bit of a dance around.”
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