Comings and goings
The All Blacks are saying hello to a few blokes this week and goodbye to others.
Not for an eternity but it will be a few weeks before Brodie Retallick and Ngani Laumape are fit to play again, following the injuries they suffered in Saturday’s 46-24 win over Argentina in Nelson.
That disappointment is made up for by the likely return of three senior pros to the fray – and perhaps a fourth as well – for this week’s clash with South Africa in Wellington. Ryan Crotty and Sam Cane sat out the Pumas match as an extra precaution, after suffering head knocks against Australia but both are good to go, along with Rieko Ioane and maybe Sonny Bill Williams too.
‘‘Yep, yep. They could’ve played this week but we just chose to give them another week,’’ All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said yesterday of Crotty and Cane.
‘‘Sonny, he’ll get an X-ray [on his injured shoulder] again on Monday and if everything’s clear there, he’ll be available as well. Rieko [hamstring] will be available so while we’re losing a couple, we’re getting a couple back on deck as well.’’
The news on Retallick and Laumape isn’t definitive but it’s more detailed than in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s game. Lock Retallick injured cartilage in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder after being tackled, while second fiveeighth Laumape hurt his knee.
‘‘We know that Guzzler [Retallick] won’t be available next week, so we’re going to bring Patrick Tuipulotu in. It was either him or Luke Romano and Luke’s got a calf strain, so we didn’t consider him,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘Brodie will get scanned on Monday and then we’ll have a better idea how long he’ll be but it could be a maximum six weeks. Minimum maybe three, so he’ll be out for a wee while.
‘‘Ngani’s got grade-one ligament damage so he’ll be two to three weeks.’’
With fellow midfield backs Crotty and Williams back in the mix, Laumape’s injury won’t require additional reinforcements, while Tuipulotu comes straight back in having just returned from injury himself.
Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett are still floating about, so Tuipulotu will presumably come onto the bench. He scored three tries in Auckland’s win over Tasman on Friday, having not played since injuring a shoulder in May.
All up, it could be quite a different All Blacks side that takes the park this week, with Crotty and Williams to perhaps re-unite in midfield, Ioane and Jordie Barrett to return to the backthree, Beauden Barrett back at first five-eighth and Cane and Liam Squire joining captain Kieran Read in the loose trio.
Several less experienced or fringe squad members impressed against the Pumas but the Springboks are a different beast, one that demands the inclusion of all the All Blacks’ available big guns.