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All Blacks senior lock Sam Whitelock is in doubt for Bledisloe II in Auckland on Sunday after taking a hit to the head in Wellington, while playmakers Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga are suffering injury problems. less serious.
Assistant coach John Plumtree confirmed Wednesday that the All Blacks were working on fitness issues around all three, leading to Sunday’s second straight meeting against the Wallabies, with Whitelock’s situation being the most dire.
Balancing the possible unavailability of the 32-year-old 118-trial padlock, who did not participate in Wednesday’s training session, was the return to full fitness of his Crusaders teammate Scott Barrett after a long break with a foot injury.
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Lock Sam Whitelock is classified as doubtful for the second Bledisloe test.
Plumtree confirmed that Scott Barrett was available for selection this week, although the team was balancing the best route for his return after so long out of the game.
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The 26-year-old missed Super Rugby Aotearoa after needing surgery when he injured the plantar fascia ligament in his foot during an inter-squad game with the Crusaders on June 13.
“Sam had some headaches after the game,” Plumtree said. “So we will work with the concussion protocols and see how this week goes. Hopefully it’ll be okay by the weekend. “
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The top five of the Highlanders were among the group as they prepared for the second Bledisloe trial.
Otherwise, 20-year-old Tupou Vaa’i could become the center of attention, starting alongside Patrick Tuipulotu after making his test debut from the bench in Wellington. Coaches across the Blacks have been impressed with the progress made by the youngster throughout his great 2020 season.
Plumtree said Beauden Barrett, who was originally named fullback for last Sunday’s starting Bledisloe, which ended in a 16-16 stalemate, took “a small part” in Wednesday’s practice as he continued to take care of his Achilles tendon problem.
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Beauden Barrett missed the first round in Wellington due to an Achilles tendon problem.
“It seemed like he was running pretty well. Richie [Mo’unga] he had a stinger in his shoulder but [it was] nothing too much “.
On Beauden Barrett’s status for Eden Park on Sunday, Plumtree said: “It seems likely, absolutely, but it also seemed likely this time last week. Tomorrow he has a day off, then a big day on Friday. So we’ll see how it goes. “
Plumtree confirmed that Barrett had solved similar issues with the Blues at Super Rugby Aotearoa and he likely needed a long break to clear it up completely.
In terms of Scott Barrett’s potential to be thrown straight onto the proving ground, Plumtree said it was a delicate balancing act that they would think a lot about for the next few days. The most likely route, in any case, would be from the bank.
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Josh Ioane trains with the All Blacks on Wednesday in Auckland.
“He has followed his rehab program perfectly. This was potentially his return-to-game date, so this is how we use Scotty, whether we send him back to play for Taranaki or he plays a role for us will be something we’ll consider. “
Plumtree admitted that Barrett would bring some much-needed physique on the back of a disappointing overall effort from the group last Sunday, although his lack of play had to be taken into account.
“It’s been a while since he last played, so you have to take all of these factors into account. But Scotty is a pretty honest kid, he knows where he is and has done the work with the team in recent weeks, not only in his conditioning, but also in his contact work and in the game.
“He’s been involved in pretty much everything, so that’s good for us.”
Plumtree confirmed that midfielder Ngani Laumpape, who had rejoined the All Blacks after a spell with a broken wrist, was not yet available for selection. Highlanders first five eighths Josh Ioane was also training with the team in Auckland as part of a planned rotation of additional players spending time at camp.
His inclusion is timely, however, as both Barrett and Mo’unga, who had several late hits last Sunday, experienced their problems.
Foster appoints his team on Friday at 11:30 am.
