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Peter Lakai’s form has been one of the brightest stories All black people‘ 2026 season and after a try in the Springboks series, the 23-year-old credits his growing confidence with continuing to improve.
Lakai has been named in the number 7 jersey for the meeting with New Zealand Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend, with his performances in the recent Bledisloe Cup Tests ensuring the absence of Luke Jacobson and All Blacks captain Ardie Save was not fatal to his side.
Lakai says experiencing how fierce the physicality can be in the Test arena has put him in a good place to compete at the top level and feel more comfortable there.
Asked what was the biggest difference between the version of him that faced Scotland last year and the version that will play them this weekend, Lakai said: “I guess it’s just confidence.”
“I’m getting off of it South Africa tour, obviously playing with the number one team in the world for four weeks in a row definitely helped. They’re probably the benchmark in world rugby when it comes to physicality, and I’ve learned a few things from there and then just trying to apply what I’ve learned to every game, and playing with confidence. I’m happy with the football I’m playing right now.”
However, it’s not just Lakai who has grown since the last time these nations met. The entire All Blacks team has come through a grueling, historic series loss to the Springboks and gained a clearer picture of the standards they must meet.
“We reviewed that tour, and it’s fair to say we were a bit beaten up on the set-up, and going into that Australian tour, we wanted to tweak that and give ourselves the best opportunity to have possession and play in the right parts of the pitch. And yes, we’re happy with our results in Australia, but obviously coming up north, they’ve got three different quality teams here in the east; row.
“So we kind of set the bar for ourselves. I guess we just have to raise it on this tour.”
Dave Rennie will be hoping his young star can continue his rise through the ranks of rugby’s great back-row talent as New Zealand chasing the inauguration Nations Championship title. And it won’t be just one young loose forward tasked with delivering the result.
Wallace Sititi was named at No.8 for the Test, with Tupou Vaa’i at blindside. Despite having an average age of just 24, Lakai says the loose attacking trio brings “good balance” to the game.
“I’ve played a lot with Wally through the ages and playing with him in an international game is pretty special too. He’s a special player. He’s instinctive, which is easy for me to read and play him. And Toups too; he’s got a good football IQ, and he leads our team well in the setup zone. So it’s a good balance within our group.”
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie pointed out this week just how long these Scottish players have been together, citing continuity of selection as one of their biggest strengths. This is a team that has given the Kiwis problems before.
“Obviously we got off to a fast start last year,” Lakai reflected. “We were a lot at half-time, and then there’s the Scottish team, they’re a quality team, they don’t lie, and obviously they came back and gave us a bit of a scare last year.”