In a major blow to the All Blacks ahead of their trip to Japan and Europe, three players were ruled out of the first Test due to injury. Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali’i will not be able to travel with the squad.
Uncapped prospect Peter Lakai is now set to make his All Blacks debut after being called up to the Japan Test squad alongside lock Josh Lord. Lakai was in sensational form for the Hurricanes during Super Rugby Pacific and that form continued at NPC Wellington.
However, the news comes as another blow to Blackadder, whose absence will lead to the fourth Test at the Test stadium. Blackadder was one of the best players on the ground in the tight defeat to the Springboks in Johannesburg, but the back-rower has largely remained on the sidelines since.
Blackadder was named to start Tasman’s eighth-place finish in last weekend’s NPC quarter-final against Canterbury in Nelson, but the All Blacks withdrew just before kick-off. Mako went on to lose to his archrival by a whopping 48 points.
“It’s very disappointing for Ethan, Luke and Dalton, but we know they will recover well and work hard to get back to work as soon as possible,” coach Scott Robertson said in a statement.
“This opens up opportunities for other players. We are delighted to welcome Josh back to the group and provide Peter Lakai with the opportunity to pull on an All Blacks jersey.
“We will be assessing the injury status of Ethan, Luke and Dalton prior to travel to the UK to determine whether additional injury cover is required.”
Seven members of the All Blacks XV team will also travel to Japan on training cover. Bradley Slater, George Bower, Fabian Holland, Christian Rio-Willi, and Oliver Hague made up the five forwards, while the two backs included Harry Plummer and AJ Lamb.
None of these players in the provincial win represent the team that will advance to this weekend’s semifinals. All Blacks XV coach Clayton McMillan confirmed last week that members of his squad would be free to play in the semi-finals and finals.
After their time in Japan, these players will fly to Ireland to link up with the rest of the All Blacks XV team. However, one final call is possible to fill the 36 seats.Day Be part of the All Blacks XV team for the remainder of their northern tour.
All Blacks XV team members travel to Japan for injury cover
forward
Bradley Slater (Hooker)
George Bower (Proposition)
Fabian Holland (Lock)
Christian Rio-Willi (loose forward)
Oliver Hague (Ruth Forward)
back of a chair
Harry Plummer (1st 5-8th)
AJ Lahm (midfielder)
All Blacks fixtures
Saturday 26 October – All Blacks v Japan, 6.50pm (NZST), Nissan Stadium, Yokohama.
Sunday 3 November – All Blacks v England, 4.10am (NZST), Allianz Stadium (Twickenham), London.
Saturday 9 November – All Blacks v Ireland, 9.10am (NZST), Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Sunday 17 November – All Blacks v France, 9.10am (NZST), Stade de France, Paris.
Sunday 24 November – All Blacks v Italy, 9.10am (NZST), Allianz Stadium, Turin.
