The All Blacks yesterday reported an injury blow on the eve of the opening Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia, with fullback Beauden Barrett forced to withdraw with an Achilles tendon injury.
The two-time world player of the year has been replaced by Damian McKenzie, who was not in the original match-day squad and who played the last of his 23 Tests two years ago.
Barrett’s injury flared up during training on Friday.
Photo: AFP
Although it settled overnight and he was involved in the early part of the All Blacks’ final training run, the team said that they would not risk playing him.
“He probably could have played at a push, but we have full confidence in Damian stepping up,” All Blacks skipper Sam Cane said.
Cane came to prominence as a 20-year-old in 2012, when he made his Super Rugby and All Blacks debuts under the guidance of now-Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie at the Waikato Chiefs.
Photo: AFP
They developed a relationship that has given Cane a good insight into what to expect from the Wallabies.
“If I know Dave Rennie, he’ll drill into his side to work hard, fight for every inch,” Cane said.
They will be “very physical, but will like to use the ball too so there won’t be any moments where we can switch off,” he said.
The Wallabies were to fly into Wellington late yesterday after ending their 14 days of training in quarantine in Christchurch.
Captain Michael Hooper, who is to play his 100th Test, said it was a type of build-up he had never experienced before.
“COVID aside it would have felt different. Everything’s shuffled, everything’s changed. There’s a new coaching staff, a lot of new players and a new lot of enthusiasm,” Hooper said.
The near-capacity crowd of 30,000 expected at Wellington Stadium was “25,000 more than we’ve been used to thanks to COVID,” he said.
The Test is to be the first international rugby since the pandemic halted the Six Nations in March.
Neither New Zealand or Australia have played since October last year, at the World Cup in Japan.
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