All Blacks lose key players ahead of opening test
An injury cloud hovers over the All Blacks ahead of the team's first game of the season as Scott Robertson has lost a couple of key players who will sit out the opening test against France this weekend. Sports reporter Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen.
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RNZ News
28 minutes ago
- RNZ News
All Blacks countdown: The fine margins of the scrum
All Blacks v France Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 5 July Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin Live blog updates on RNZ Sport There's a wild rumour flying around about the Super Rugby Pacific final , but Fletcher Newell has cleared it up. The Crusaders conceded penalties on the first two scrums of the game, only to then take complete control of the Chiefs' scrum for the remainder of the game, culminating in a couple of match clinching penalties. Word was that the Crusaders had done so on purpose, which would be a wily but on brand act to lull their opponents into a false sense of security. However Newell said that the reality of the eventual 19-12 win to the Crusaders was a little less dramatic. "That's not true, nah definitely not. It probably took us a couple of scrums to execute our plan. We had a pretty clear plan going into the game," he said at the All Blacks' hotel. "It was probably just a couple of little technicalities we didn't quite get right. Probably the gap was a little bit big, they saw we were collapsing on the hit. So, once we got that right, we're able to keep both teams up. We saw the power of our back five to be able to get us through and it turned into a pretty pivotal part of the final, which was really enjoyable." Fletcher Newell. Photo: Martin Hunter/ The 25-year-old Newell's attention now focuses to the All Blacks' three test series with France , starting this Saturday night in Dunedin. After the emotional high of the Crusaders' redemption championship, he has had his training load managed after playing the entirety of both the semi and final. Such a shift is rare for a modern day front rower, but Newell isn't fussed. "I think for me, just playing rugby is really important. Stacking weeks on weeks and I know last year we missed a few weeks before the first test, you kind of fall out of that routine a bit. So, I think for me, like being in routine and to be able to just keep stacking training weeks is really important physically." Newell pointed out that the test match intensity of the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs was the perfect pre-cursor to the test season, although it will still require a step up. "It's a little bit more difficult. Obviously, there's a lot of experienced players around us, but I think it's just having that courage to, to tell them what we need. I think that's really important part of being a tighthead prop as well, you've got to communicate with everyone on the field, have those little simple adjustments and be able to execute it under pressure." That includes communicating directly with the likes of Scott Barrett to push harder in the scrums, on the surface a rather unenviable situation. "We have built up that trust, throughout Super Rugby. And then also when we come in here, we're encouraged to speak what we need to say." The All Black scrum has been one of the success stories of the last few seasons, however has suffered the loss this week of Tamaiti Williams , who is out with a knee injury for the next six to eight weeks. Newell is well aware of just how crucial the scrum will once again be, and how it will be adjudicated throughout the season. "Obviously there's a lot of a lot of moving parts and it is a really tough thing to be out for a referee who's under a lot of pressure to be able to make a call in a big moment. What we've got to do to give the ref clear pictures, stay really nice and square and show both sides going forward. So the more we can do that and show dominance, we're confident in the referee to make that decision."
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tavatavanawai's selection ‘still unreal'
Assistant coach Jason Ryan congratulates Timoci Tavatavanawai at the All Blacks squad announcement at the Coastal Rugby Club in Taranaki last week. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Timoci Tavatavanawai was born and raised in Fiji, earned his Super Rugby stripes on the North Shore, and calls Nelson home. But he would dearly love to mark the greatest moment of his career in his adopted Dunedin. Tavatavanawai will arrive in the South with the All Blacks tonight to prepare for the first test against France at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday. The Highlanders co-captain was still digesting the seismic news of his selection in Scott Robertson's squad when he spoke to the Otago Daily Times. "Oh, yeah, it's still an unreal feeling, to be honest," Tavatavanawai said. "I don't know. I'm still pinching myself. "I think it won't be real until I actually play a game in that jersey." There have been plenty of recent examples of players with Fijian heritage shining in a black jersey. Tavatavanawai grew up on stories of the late Joeli Vidiri, and remembers watching flying wingers Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu starring for the All Blacks. Significantly, he also gets to take his first steps in the national squad with incumbent winger Sevu Reece and injury cover Emoni Narawa. "To be in the All Blacks with my mates Sevu and Emoni is amazing because I went to school with both those guys. "It means a lot because it shows that if you believe in yourself, you can achieve anything." "Jim" was 19 when he moved from Fiji to New Zealand. He has worked hard on himself and his leadership skills, become an integral member of the Tasman Mako and, after starting with Moana Pasifika, flourished as a Super Rugby mainstay with the Highlanders. People had believed in him all the way, and he was determined to repay them. "For me, I'm chasing something that is more than just a game." Tavatavanawai did not get a chance to see his mother for five years after leaving the islands, and he was stuck in his adopted land when his dad died in 2021 during the pandemic. His proud mother, Melania Raqina, told PMN News last week that she wished her late husband could have seen their son named in the All Blacks. 'When I received the call that Jim's name was announced, I felt so emotional thinking about my late husband and how this news should have been shared with him,' she said. 'Although I am Jim's greatest supporter, my husband made sure that everything Jim needed for rugby was available." Tavatavanawai is the third of nine children, and the whole clan have been making the new All Black feel proud. "It's unreal. I'm just getting messages from them all the time," he said. "It's a big moment for myself and for my family and for my village. "I just need to keep believing and keep fighting and keep growing my game." Tavatavanawai was raised in his father's village of Naikawaga, Namara, in the Tailevu province. While his love for Fiji runs deep, he is also a devout Highlanders man. Moving south last year helped take his career to another level, and that continued when he was named co-captain this year, while a shift from wing to second five delivered dramatic results. "It's just helped me grow and grow as a person and as a leader. "My game in general has grown too, and getting a whole season in the midfield was huge for me," he said. "It probably just felt new to a lot of people because I hadn't played second five much at a professional level. "But for me, I've played lots of rugby in the midfield back home, and for my club in Tasman. It's something I've wanted to do in the professional area." Tavatavanawai is unsure whether the All Blacks see him more as a second five or a winger. "There are plenty of quality players in the squad. Guys who have been there for a wee while. "I just need to keep training hard and do what I do best to give myself a chance. I think I just need to be myself. That's probably the main thing." While Tavatavanawai is excited at the prospect of making his test debut in Dunedin, he becomes even more animated when asked about seeing Highlanders team-mate Fabian Holland potentially doing the same thing. "Mate, I've seen him perform week in, week out and how he goes about his whole week. "To be named in the All Blacks beside Fabian is unreal. I know he's going to go really well. "He's got the hunger in him and he loves to compete. I've got complete faith in him."
1News
4 hours ago
- 1News
Another blow for All Blacks as Williams is ruled out of French series
All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams is out of the French series due to a knee injury which requires surgery. Described today as one of the best looseheads in the world by head coach Scott Robertson, Williams' withdrawal due to a torn meniscus comes after he started for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby Pacific final victory over the Chiefs. Williams, who suffered the tear in the qualifier win over the Reds, probably surprised Robertson by making himself available for that match in Christchurch recently and afterwards struggled to straighten his leg. Asked today ahead of Saturday's first Test against France about the wisdom of Williams playing, Robertson replied: 'Well, he played and we're here right now, so they're the facts.' The similarities with the case of Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock, who played in the 2023 Super Rugby final despite an Achilles injury and was then unavailable for several Tests afterwards, are obvious. ADVERTISEMENT 'Players want to play and they want to compete,' said Robertson, who was Whitelock's Super Rugby coach at the time. 'That's the scenario at the moment.' Williams will be sidelined for up to eight weeks. George Bower has been called into the squad to replace Williams and is the latest to be included in what was originally a 33-player squad. Loose forward Wallace Sititi was ruled out late last week due to an ankle problem, leading to the inclusion of Dalton Papali'i as cover. No.8 Christian Lio-Willie was already in as cover for Luke Jacobson, who is following concussion protocols and will be unavailable for the first Test in Dunedin. Williams' injury means Ethan de Groot will almost certainly start the Test on home soil, with Ollie Norris likely to make his debut off the reserves bench. All Blacks midfielder Billy Proctor carries the ball against Japan last year. (Source: Photosport) ADVERTISEMENT Elsewhere, the drums are beating for Billy Proctor to start at centre, with incumbent Rieko Ioane starting on the left wing. Sky Sports presenters and former All Blacks Jeff Wilson, Justin Marshall and Mils Muliaina claimed on last night's Breakdown show that Proctor would be given the nod to start by Robertson, who will officially announce the team on Thursday. Such a scenario after he named six midfielders and only two dedicated wings in Caleb Clarke and Sevu Reece (assuming Will Jordan is regarded as a specialist fullback) in the squad, would not be a huge surprise. Should Proctor start, Jordie Barrett is almost certain to be named alongside him at second-five which would open up an opportunity for Quinn Tupaea to resume his Test career from the bench or possibly Timoci Tavatavanawai to make his international debut from there. For the All Blacks, the Test is an opportunity to put to use some harsh lessons from last year – Robertson's first. They won 10 from 14 Tests last year and had halftime leads in the games they lost – twice to the Boks, once to Argentina in Wellington and France in Paris. Such is the relative inexperience of this France squad that the All Blacks are unlikely to be under as much sustained pressure as they were the last time they played the Tricolors, but Robertson had a word of warning, saying: 'This is probably when they're at their most dangerous – when they're underestimated.' Referring to that 30-29 defeat to the Stade de France, Robertson said: 'A lot of our review in the off season was on that game because we gave ourselves so many opportunities to win it and we didn't. 'We probably had our best two weeks with the Irish [victory in Dublin] and the French but we probably didn't get the result we deserved and sometimes you get that in Tests.'
