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All Blacks dealt another blow as Will Jordan tests positive for Covid

With 16 tries in 11 Tests, Will Jordan came of age against Wales (Photo by Ian Cook via Getty Images)

The All Blacks have been dealt another blow as they deal with a Covid outbreak on the eve of the first test against Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday.

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Star fullback Will Jordan is the sixth member of the All Blacks camp to test positive after midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue were among five members confirmed to have contracted the virus on Monday.

Four-test utility back Braydon Ennor, who covers wing and midfield, was drafted into the squad after Havili and Goodhue were ruled out.

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The All Blacks squad for the Ireland series | The Breakdown

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The All Blacks squad for the Ireland series | The Breakdown

Head coach Ian Foster and his assistants John Plumtree and Scott McLeod were the other three members of camp to test positive, and all three are currently in isolation as a result however completing their coaching duties via Zoom.

Jordan’s positive case has increased the chances of Sevu Reece and Leicester Fainga’anuku to start on the wing in the first test, with Caleb Clarke continuing to recover from a hamstring injury.

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New Zealand’s depleted midfield stocks also means it is likely that Quinn Tupaea and Rieko Ioane will take the reins at second-five and centre, respectively. Uncapped second-five Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is also in line for a potential debut.

First-five Richie Mo’unga is also in doubt having missed Tuesday’s training session with a stomach bug.

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In a statement posted on social media on Monday, Foster said “it’s extremely disappointing” to have contracted Covid, but “was very confident in the team’s ability to carry on preparing for the first test” against the touring Irish.

Ireland’s own preparations for this weekend’s clash in Auckland were dealt a blow as former Australian U20 wing Mack Hansen tested positive for Covid.

Hansen enjoyed a breakout Six Nations campaign, starring in his test debut against Wales in Dublin before going on to feature in three further tests throughout the tournament.

The 24-year-old is currently isolating away from the Ireland squad, which will open its New Zealand tour when they face the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton on Wednesday.

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3 Comments
r
rod 877 days ago

Reminds me of last year, ABs played 13 Games away from home because of COVID and by the time they played Ireland & France they were out of motivation & strength! Saturday might prove a turning point for both teams

S
Shane 877 days ago

This is all but good news,to not have fosters dumb gameplans in place is a plus,but also to have joe schmidt in,hes going to give us vital information and eyes of what to expect,and how to go about playing out of our skins,definitely cant wait to see leicester fainga'anuku on the park in the abs aswell 💯💯

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Ben 877 days ago

You have to wonder how many more players are going to go down before the game. Would be a shame to see either side lose more talent before the much-anticipated series - although now that Covid is in both camps, sadly you would expect omissions to continue.

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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