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All Blacks mainstay Nepo Laulala has been ruled out of the Bledisloe Cup opener for personal reasons.
The All Blacks have received another late change to their lineup for the Bledisloe Cup opener against the Wallabies.
Prop Nepo Laulala has withdrawn from Sunday afternoon’s test match in Wellington due to personal reasons.
He will be replaced on the bench by Tyrel Lomax, who had originally been released to play Tasman in Sunday’s Miter 10 Cup game against Bay of Plenty in Nelson.
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Tyrel Lomax is a late call to the All Blacks bench for Sunday’s test.
The news comes less than 24 hours after Saturday’s retirement of fullback Beauden Barrett, who will be left out of the game with a minor Achilles tendon injury, which has seen Damian McKenzie promoted to start in the number 15 jersey.
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Laulala, who has played 26 events, had been the All Blacks’ initial preference in the number 3 jersey until last year, though Ofa Tuungafasi’s irresistible Super Rugby Aotearoa form had seen the pair swap roles for the match at the Sky Stadium.
Lomax, 24, is in line for his second test limit, having debuted in November 2018 against Japan in Tokyo.
The test starts at 4 pm.
