Sister’s fears

The sister of All Blacks midfielder Ryan Crotty has shared her anxieties around her big brother’s repeated concussions, in the wake of his latest setback.

Shea Crotty took to Twitter to express her trepidation during Saturday’s test, having watched Ryan leave the field in the 12th minute after being knocked out in a friendly-fire clash with centre Jack Goodhue.

As much as the ordeal is tough for the man itself, it was also plain to see the angst it causes those close to him too, with Shea noting for ‘‘selfish reasons’’, ‘‘I want to see my brother grow old and able, not battling the brain forever’’.

On that subject, Cane also paid tribute to Wallabies flanker David Pocock, who took the time in the heat of the battle to make sure the All Blacks No 12 was OK.

‘‘It speaks pretty highly of his character and the type of guy he is if he’s willing to put the battle to one side in that moment and put the player’s welfare first. So, thank you, David,’’ Cane said.

Hansen confirmed he was unlikely to seek a wing replacement, with Waisake Naholo presenting well yesterday after a shoulder knock, and Ben Smith, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie offering the cover required.

The coach noted a strong outing from Milner-Skudder for Manawatu on Saturday and felt game-time was the best thing right now for him.

He also praised Naholo’s performance as the best he had seen from the Highlanders wing in the black jersey.

‘‘He’ll build a lot of confidence out of that.’’

Hansen also lauded a strong showing from young centre Goodhue.

‘‘He’s only played two tests and he’s done really well in those two.

‘‘If you just look at that you think ‘wow, he’s arrived quickly’ but when you dig deeper and look at the work done with him and patience shown, we’re getting the reward for that.’’

But he also warned it would be dangerous not to anticipate a major Wallabies response in Auckland, even without injured fullback Israel Folau.

‘‘What we do know is that teams that get beaten learn more than teams that win and teams that get beaten are hungrier than teams that win. Our challenge this week is to learn better and be hungrier than them.’’