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The Rugby Championship

All Blacks forced into last minute call-up after brutal injury blow

By Rugby365
(L-R) Ethan de Groot, Anton Lienert-Brown, Damian McKenzie, Patrick Tuipulotu, Codie Taylor, Jordie Barrett, Beauden Barrett and Scott Barrett line up to sing the national anthem ahead of the International Test Match between New Zealand All Blacks and England at Eden Park on July 13, 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The All Blacks suffered another blow ahead of their two Rugby Championship matches against the Springboks in South Africa.

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On Friday, the team revealed that prop Ethan de Groot will play no part in those Tests.

The 26-year-old is currently battling a neck injury and he will continue his rehabilitation in New Zealand.

Crusaders prop George Bower will join the squad as injury cover.

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup

With exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks off
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will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever.

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup

With exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks off
in Sunderland, excitement is sweeping across the host nation in anticipation of what
will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever.

Register now for the ticket presale

Earlier this week, calf injuries prevented lock Patrick Tuipulotu and outside back Stephen Perofeta from travelling with the All Black squad to South Africa.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, All Black head coach Scott Robertson revealed that assistant coach Leon MacDonald left his staff on the eve of their trip to South Africa due to a clash of coaching styles.

New Zealand will face the Springboks at Ellis Park next weekend on August 31 before they meet again in Cape Town on September 7.

UPDATED SQUAD:

Hookers
Asafo Aumua
Codie Taylor
George Bell

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Props
George Bower
Tyrel Lomax
Fletcher Newell
Pasilio Tosi
Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Tamaiti Williams

Locks
Scott Barrett (Captain)
Sam Darry
Josh Lord
Tupou Vaa’i

Loose Forwards
Ethan Blackadder
Sam Cane
Samipeni Finau
Luke Jacobson
Dalton Papali’i
Ardie Savea (Vice Captain)
Wallace Sititi

BACKS

Halfbacks
Noah Hotham
TJ Perenara
Cortez Ratima

First five-eighths
Beauden Barrett
Damian McKenzie

Mid-fielders
Jordie Barrett (Vice Captain)
David Havili
Rieko Ioane
Anton Lienert-Brown
Billy Proctor

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Outside backs
Caleb Clarke
Will Jordan
Ruben Love
Harry Plummer
Sevu Reece
Mark Tele’a

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Defending champions Fiji opened the Pacific Nations Cup with a resounding 42-16 victory over Samoa.

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One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup!
With exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks off in Sunderland, excitement is sweeping across the host nation in anticipation of what will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever. Register now for the ticket presale.

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Comments

4 Comments
T
Toaster 19 days ago

Good opportunity for Tamaiti assuming he starts

Does affect the impact off the bench though

B
B 20 days ago

recover well Ethan and if its sooner all good...if not... just concentrate on getting yourself back to fitness plus in time for the AB's EOYT...

M
MattJH 20 days ago

Sux for Ethan, but with how well the other props are playing it’s not a ‘brutal blow’.

J
JW 20 days ago

Unlucky for EDG, these two games the year before last were where he made his mark and claimed the jersery.


More importantly, I see they still persist with including Beauden as a half int the squad. They even have Harry Plummer listed as an outside back. What must it be like to have to 'click' with Razor, be a bit different?

d
dk 19 days ago

Be good.

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Comments on RugbyPass

O
OJohn 12 minutes ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

They aren't vital Bledisloe Cup matches. Australia is being sabotaged by Schmidt. We are not being given a chance to compete. They are non games. It's just kiwis versus a lay down kiwi.

33 Go to comments
O
OJohn 14 minutes ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

I think you'll find Nick thinks he should be 7 too, which he should be.

33 Go to comments
S
SS 33 minutes ago
Don't blame Super Rugby for All Blacks' woes

We all know it's for the money, I think the question is more why are they straight back into the All Blacks?

16 Go to comments
S
SS 35 minutes ago
Don't blame Super Rugby for All Blacks' woes

There were more Crusaders than from any other franchise in the team in the first SA test, ridiculous

16 Go to comments
S
SS 36 minutes ago
Don't blame Super Rugby for All Blacks' woes

Absolutely agree, the non-selection of top-performing players has been a travesty. Why are we not blooding new players now instead of fielding players who have little match conditioning, or who are heading off overseas at the end of the season?

16 Go to comments
A
Andrew Nichols 42 minutes ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

He said it was Frizelle who was the FTB not PSDT.

33 Go to comments
P
PC 47 minutes ago
Cam Roigard’s outrageously impressive Bronco time during injury rehab

Just no more tj. Told off twice in 2 weeks. All he did was get the ref's offside early in the game.

12 Go to comments
J
JW 48 minutes ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

JGP was 24 when he left, younger than Fakatava who many think is destined to crack the All Blacks. Same age as Fergus Burke who if he hadn't of left (or been injured this year) could have been an All Black.


Bundee Ake the same age 24. Billy Proctor only cracked the ABs after a stella season at the age of 25.


James Lowe was a little different, many thought he should have been an AB ahead of that Crusaders guy, who left a year or two later anyway, but he was still only 24 when he signed to go overseas (seeing a pattern here?).


I feel like saying "for whatever reason" makes it seem like the players weren't quite there, when in fact they were well on the way!

190 Go to comments
F
Forward pass 55 minutes ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

Ratima, Sititi, Proctor, Darry, Bell, Hothem, Tosi. Thats 7 or 46% of a team. More to come

33 Go to comments
F
Forward pass 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

What a load of bullshit. Boks played poorly BECAUSE the ABs played very well. 1 TMO decision cost a win and the second test was a deserved win to SA. 1-1 was a real result.

33 Go to comments
F
Forward pass 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

Do you sometimes say things as a non Australian?

33 Go to comments
F
Forward pass 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

No thats a load of BS. Youre still an egg.

33 Go to comments
C
CD older/wiser 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

Still, l believe missing the point, same basic player line up and until this changes nothing much will change. Players, unlike coaching staff aren't sacked from their contracts. AB's have to make do with the available contracted players and the players are the ones who have to get on board with how the new coaches want them to play, if the players cannot adjust they should be the fired..

33 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

I think he's suggesting that the half million pacifika people in NZ jump ship and get paid more to play for Samoa or Tonga etc. Certainly it will be better for both if NZ and Aus are able to abolish their quotas of overseas players. First and foremost though I think it would be the best thing for young pasifika people to come to NZ or Aus first to become a pro than go straight to far reaches like Europe or Japan/America. If that means the reletively few ones that are really good and got scooped up by NZ/AUs don't exist, it's no big deal imo.

190 Go to comments
F
Forward pass 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

JD I find Nick Bishop to be very anti NZ and NZ rugby in all his articles. I also find he is quite ignorant around what is going on in down under rugby. Never seems to be caught up on the reality. Bases his "facts" on unresearched info.

33 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

We had a couple of Fijians come over to be pickers and play rugby, both amazing athletes and went on to huge honors. I think lots of clubs would bring a Fijian over and give him a job back in those amateur days.


Nah, all of those players would have been All Blacks if they weren't poached.


I read a local community forum and Ardies biggest fan turned into his biggest hater overnight haha It's not what you suggest though, you're just supposed to be a one club man in New Zealand. I get a tingle of suspicion that concept does apply to NZR higher ups though, because NZR/AB's are on that balancing point (imo). If they can make some big money, even if through WR investment that aids Oceania as a whole, NZR will be a huge asset to the island nations (and already are to be fair).

190 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

I certainly don't see Clarke developing his game like people might have thought would be useful with his size. Blues have a number of other outside backs they are trying that with instead now anyway. Did anyone start like that in England? Lawrence now has moved in one or is he still mainly a center? I hope someone has been keeping an eye on Leicester.

190 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

Well I'm hopeful we already have one there. Not sure Ioane is going to have the instincts for wing anymore. Up until the start of this AB season I had been saying they should still try him back on the wing but (they have) I haven't liked what I've seen there (Robertson wants everyone to play two positions so that's why weve seen him there) and I'd rather they just encourage him to return to his passing game instead of hittup game. Happy for him to just keep nailing blokes now tbh.


Jordie on the other hand doesn't seem to be showing any interest in changing into a center like Rieko has so that's were I hope someone passes him or he's just better utilized at fullback or on the bench.

190 Go to comments
C
CD older/wiser 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson has mounting problems to fix for misfiring All Blacks

We all keep pointing the finger at the coach's, then the players. Saying this player should be playing and this one needs to go! Big problem, money! To many existing players on long term contracts (smart managers), therefore leading to the inability to sign new player contracts willy nilly. Before professional rugby if players didn't perform they were replaced, they knew they had to perform or they were gone. Do away with long term contracts, two year max, that way if a player is not up to scratch there is no long term financial strain and a lot easier to advance newer up and coming players. Makes competition for positions a lot easier and simpler. There have been a few retirements but the current pool of players is basically unchanged, therefore, until there is the same change in the player line up, similar to what has happened in the coaching line up. Results are going to struggle.

33 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'

Is that really Love though? I'd like the idea of him playing 10 but I'm not sure he plays from the back like a playmaker. He seemed more of a traditional fullback like Furbank (and Jordan) to me.

190 Go to comments
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LONG READ Can Schmidt revisit history and revive Wallabies for ‘worst type of All Blacks'? Can Schmidt revisit history and revive Wallabies for ‘worst type of All Blacks'?
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