Luke Romano

A consummate lock, with all the skills required to do the job properly, Luke Romano has continued to develop and improve since his provincial debut in 2009.

Romano is a rugged, hard-tackling player noted for his robust defence and ability to apply pressure to opposition jumpers with confident lineout jumping. First named in the All Blacks in 2012, in 2015 he earned five more Test starts, including pool matches against Namibia and Tonga at RWC 2015.

Romano’s All Blacks career started well and he earned 11 caps in his first season with the team, including eight starts. A groin injury in the first Investec Rugby Championship Test of 2013 limited his appearances for the rest of the year and he was to appear only once more in the black jersey that season, against England at Twickenham. A broken ankle then kept him out of the Steinlager Series and Investec Rugby Championship squads for 2014. He returned for the Northern Tour and had a solid 2015 Super Rugby season with the Crusaders.

Extremely powerful, the qualified builder has a pair of the biggest feet in New Zealand rugby (size 17) and shows a burgeoning strength and style of play reminiscent of some of the toughest of the All Blacks tall timber.

He has Italian heritage through his grandfather, which saw him attract the interest of club sides in Italy in his early playing days.