All Blacks coach Dave Rennie has provided a detailed injury update ahead of the first Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The tourists go into the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series opener with confidence after beating the Stormers, Sharks and Vodacom Bulls, but those wins have come at a cost.
Prop Ollie Norris became the fourth All Black ruled out of the tour after suffering a knee injury at Loftus Versfeld, joining hooker George Bell, centre Billy Proctor and wing Caleb Clarke back in New Zealand.
Highlanders prop Saula Ma’u has been called up to replace Norris, while Crusaders scrumhalf Noah Hotham has joined the squad as Cortez Ratima undergoes further assessment on a knee injury.
Ratima is among several players under an injury cloud, along with utility back Damian McKenzie (ankle), winger Will Jordan (back) and scrumhalf Cam Roigard (calf). Jordan and Roigard are yet to feature on tour, although Rennie expects both to be available for Saturday.
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On Ratima, Rennie confirmed the scrumhalf had suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury.
“He had a scan, so it’s a PCL injury, but we’re going to see how it is over the next 48 hours.
“Obviously, we’re a little bit thin at nine as it is, so getting Noah in will be good.
“Hopefully, we expect Cam to be ready to go on the weekend. We’ve still got KP [Kyle Preston] if Cortez was no good, and we’d need Noah to play on the Tuesday [against the Lions].
“So, good to get him in. He’s excited. He wasn’t long off the pitch for Tasman when I got hold of him on Sunday, so he’s keen.”
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Rennie was also encouraged by McKenzie’s progress, although the 31-year-old still has hurdles to clear before being considered for Ellis Park.
“Again, we’re hopeful with him. He had a light run yesterday. He’s doing a bit more work with the physios this morning when we were doing clarity.
“He’ll play a limited part in the session this afternoon. We’re hoping to get him running by tomorrow, so we’ll know a bit more probably in the next 24 hours.”
There was greater certainty around Jordan and Roigard.
“We’re anticipating they’ll be fine,” Rennie said.
“Cam’s played a hell of a lot of rugby this year, so him not playing so much lately is not a bad thing.
“Will came into that French Test on the back of being out for a long, long time.
“We’re confident those boys will slot straight in, clear on our structures and their roles within it. We’re just making sure they’re physically ready to go.”
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Despite the growing casualty list, Rennie is not overly concerned by the attrition rate.
“You always hope for the best, but they have been collision injuries outside of George Bell, who did his in a clarity jog session.
“It’s the nature of the game. You look at Billy Proctor’s injury over jackalling a ball, just the angle he got hit on.
“Obviously Caleb – quite amazing, really, because we think he did that in the first half and he’s catching balls above his head and charging into people. Amazing what adrenaline does.
“It’s sad for those guys, having a tour over so early, but it’s the nature of the game.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Rennie sweats on injured All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie has provided a detailed injury update ahead of the first Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
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