All Blacks call-up for Dunshea
An injury to uncapped All Blacks lock Quinten Strange has led to Mitchell Dunshea’s first national callup.
Strange could miss the rest of the season after injuring an ankle at All Blacks training in Hamilton on Wednesday and is ‘‘expected to be out for up to six to eight weeks’’, the All Blacks said yesterday.
The Crusaders lock was due to be released to play for Tasman against North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup on Sunday.
Strange’s Crusaders team-mate and lock partner Dunshea will join the All Blacks as a replacement in Wellington on Sunday, a day after he lines up for Canterbury against Wellington in theirmitre 10 Cup clash in Christchurch.
Canterbury were informed of Dunshea’s call-up in themiddle of their training session yesterday and will lose the 24-year-old once he begins training with the All Blacks ahead of the Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia next week.
Strange’s injury is Dunshea’s gain but it’s also ‘‘a blow’’ for Canterbury, their co-coach Reuben Thorne said, admitting he expects to lose more players when the All Blacks name a wider Rugby Championship squad, although he was pleased for his lock.
Meanwhile, Strange has not played since injuring a shoulder during Super Rugby Aotearoa in August but was still one of seven new All Blacks named in the 35-man squad last month.
The 24-year-old’s ankle injury means his season could be over and with the All Blacks scheduled to leave for the Rugby Championship in late October, a spot in their wider squad for the tournament in Australia is doubtful with quarantine requirements also a complicating factor.
However, a recovery period of up to eight weeksmeans Strange could be available towards the end of the Mitre 10 Cup, with its semifinals starting on November 20, but a potential test debut in 2020 looks unlikely at this stage.
Meanwhile, Foster is due to name the extra players for the Rugby Championship soon but is delaying any announcement until the schedule is finalised.