Dagg to miss the remainder of the year as All Blacks coach juggles his options

AUCKLAND: Israel Dagg looks set to sit out the remainder of the season, with the All Blacks winger to have scans on a troublesome knee injury later this week to confirm the long-term prognosis, coach Steve Hansen said yesterday.

Dagg missed the All Blacks’ 57-0 demolition of South Africa on Saturday due to the injury, which he picked up in Super Rugby.

“He’ll need some time out of the game,” Hansen said. “It sounds like there’s some cartilage surface damage to the knee that needs a bit of rest.

“Doc is pretty confident if he gets the rest he’ll be fine, so it probably means he’ll be out for the rest of the year.”

Hansen said he had not yet considered bringing in anyone else, with Dagg’s Crusaders team-mate David Havili providing cover in the squad.

The coach added that blindside flanker Liam Squire, who left the field in the first half on Saturday for a head injury assessment and did not return, had presented no symptoms yesterday.

The All Blacks are likely to split their squad for the final two games of the Championship, with Hansen naming 28 players today for their clash with the Pumas in Buenos Aires.

He will also name 28 players for the match against the Springboks the following week.

Hansen had previously said he was looking at ways of ensuring his players arrived on their end-of-season tour of Europe not as fatigued as they had been in the past after 10 months of rugby.

“You’ve got nine weeks, seven test matches and 11 time zone changes,” Hansen said of the second half of his season. “How we manage that is going to be important.”

The All Blacks reassemble in Auckland on Friday for the trip to Argentina, where they can seal their second successive title with a victory.