All Blacks set for major injury boost ahead of Bok showdown
REACTION: All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie is optimistic that some of his high-profile players will be fully fit to take on the Springboks in the first Test of the Greatest Rivalry Series at Ellis Park next Saturday.
The All Blacks wrapped up their preparations for the Test with an impressive 50-19 victory against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
It was their third win since arriving in South Africa after beating the Stormers 38-21 and the Sharks 54-0 last Tuesday.
The visitors, however, have been hit hard with several injuries to crucial players.
George Bell, Billy Proctor and Caleb Clarke have all been sent home after sustaining serious injuries over the course of the past week.
Rennie is also sweating over the availability of Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and utility back Damian McKenzie.
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#OPINION: Check out New Zealand’s Player Ratings after their 50-19 win over the Bulls in Pretoria 👇#Bulls #NewZealand #AllBlacks #BULvNZL https://t.co/fahIMW1YHQ
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After the Bulls game, he provided an update on the trio, insisting he was positive they would be able to return to full fitness before the test.
“They’re both well,” he said when asked about Cam Roigard and Will Jordan.
“Cam got through a bit of training yesterday. We’re pretty confident they are going to be alright by next week.
“Both of them, we want them to have a full week of training, but they’ve certainly ticked enough boxes.
“Damian is the other one who we are probably less confident about, but we still think he has a good chance to play on the weekend.
“We’ll get a little bit into him tomorrow, and then hopefully he’ll train well on Tuesday. The expectation is that all three of those guys will be available.”
Rennie also confirmed that there were no other serious casualties from the Bulls game.
“Codie [Taylor] coming off at halftime was planned,” he added.
“Xavier [Numia] had a bit of a stiff Achilles, and we decided not to risk that, so he came off at halftime, and George Bower came on.
“Likewise with Cortez Ratima, he’s got a bit of a bang in the knee, and he felt it was okay, but again, we’ve got a Test match in seven days, and so both the other nines having 40 minutes each tonight was good.”
