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All Blacks call in more cover amid second-row injury woes

Isaia Walker-Leawere of the Hurricanes. Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Hurricanes second-rower Isaia Walker-Leawere has joined the All Blacks in Auckland as the team deal with the absences of captain Scott Barrett and veteran Patrick Tuipulotu.

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Barrett underwent a surgical operation upon return to New Zealand after sustaining a finger injury against Fiji and is expected to be sidelined for the opening two rounds of The Rugby Championship.

Tuipulotu’s timeline is unclear but it’s understood a calf injury is the latest issue the Blues captain has been dealing with, having recovered from an MCL surgery in time for the Super Rugby Pacific final just ahead of the July Series.

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The All Blacks already required the services of their injury reserve lock Josh Lord off the bench in round one’s Test against Argentina, making it clear more depth was needed ahead of round two.

Walker-Leawere’s inclusion rewards one of New Zealand’s form locks in 2024, with the 27-year-old a powerful force in the Hurricanes’ impressive forward pack throughout their table-topping season. The lock also impressed during the Maori All Blacks’ recent Test series against the Japan XV.

The team shared a post on their social media channels on Tuesday evening announcing the call-up.

Test rookie Sam Darry celebrated his first start in the black jersey with a try on Saturday, and had a glowing report of his initial time with the squad during the Steinlager Series.

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“Once you taste this environment, it’s quite addictive. You want to come back in and get back into the swing of things,” he told media on Tuesday.

Darry’s biggest learning can come as a lesson for Walker-Leawere as he adjusts to the higher intensity and pace of the international game, even in training.

“If you’re half a second too late, half a second too early, or you miss something in the flow-on and the repercussions of that.

“The importance of those moments in other games, you might be able to get away with it if you are slightly off but, as we saw, the ball bounces one way and you’re not there, they pounce on it and it is a try down the other end.”

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EllenMoody 3 hours ago
Great moments in Lions tour history – JPR’s drop goal and the All Blacks' brutal revenge

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JWH 4 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

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