Cane doubtful for All Blacks after cutting short training

Wellington: All Blacks captain Sam Cane could miss the pivotal Rugby Championship clash against Australia in Auckland at the weekend ater taking only a limited part in training on Tuesday as he recovers from a head injury.

Cane came off ater a blow to the head early in New Zealand’s 39-37 win over Australia in Melbourne on Thursday when the All Blacks secured the Bledisloe Cup for the 20th season in a row.

Coach Ian Foster said Cane had passed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) ater the match, but New Zealand’s captain broke off early from Tuesday’s training session.

There are doubts also over centre David Havili, who also came off in the win against Australia with a head knock.

All Blacks forward Jason Ryan would not be drawn on the fitness of the pair.

“The boys with HIAS are going through their protocols,” Ryan told reporters in Auckland. “We’ll do everything we can to get that right. “There will be no risks at all.”

The destiny of this year’s Rugby Championship crown will go to this weekend’s final round of matches with New Zealand and South Africa tied on 14 points at the top of the table.

New Zealand last lost to Australia at Eden Park in 1986, but should the All Blacks slip up, the Springboks will be waiting to take advantage when they play Argentina in Durban later on Saturday. If both win then the title could be decided on points difference.

Cane has started all eight Tests this season, leading the All Blacks to four wins and four defeats.

If he is ruled out, loose forward Ardie Savea is in line to take over the All Blacks’ captaincy as he returns ater missing the first Australia Test because of the birth of his third child.

Meanwhile, Rugby Australia has writen to the sport’s governing body about “overbearing officials”, ater the Wallabies were denied victory against New Zealand by a controversial refereeing decision.

French referee Mathieu Raynal sparked uproar in Australia ater reversing a penalty awarded to the hosts in the dying seconds of their Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks in Melbourne last week. He penalised Bernard Foley for time-wasting as the fly-half was about to kick the ball into touch in the 80th minute with the Wallabies leading 37-34.