Rennie addresses All Blacks’ growing injury toll as burly prop answers SOS
SPOTLIGHT: All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has admitted he is concerned by his side’s growing injury toll ahead of Saturday’s Greatest Rivalry series opener against the Springboks at Ellis Park.
On Monday, New Zealand confirmed that prop Ollie Norris will head back home after sustaining a cartilage injury to his knee.
Norris is expected to be sidelined for approximately six weeks, and Rennie has since called up Highlanders prop Saula Ma’u as a replacement.
With his departure, Norris became the fourth player to be ruled out of the tour after Billy Proctor (shoulder), Caleb Clarke (shoulder) and George Bell (calf) all went home after suffering serious injuries.
Rather than viewing the growing injury list as a disadvantage, Rennie said it was simply part of the game, and something that’s out of their control.
“You always hope for the best, but these are big injury collisions outside of George Bell, who did his in a clarity jog session,” he told reporters.
“It’s the nature of the game; look at Billy Proctor’s injury over jackling a ball – it was the angle he got hit on.
“For Caleb, it was quite amazing really, because we think he did well that first half, catching balls above his head and charging into people.
“It’s sad for those guys to have their tours over so early, but it’s the nature of the game.”
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The All Blacks mentor has also called up Crusaders halfback Noah Hotham to provide cover for Cortez Ratima.
Ratima suffered what Rennie described as a “bang in the knee” against the Bulls and was substituted as a precaution.
Rennie revealed that scans had confirmed a PCL injury, although the All Blacks are waiting to determine its severity.
“He had a scan, so it’s a PCL injury,” he explained.
“But we’re going to see how it is over the next 48 hours; we are a little bit thin on 9 as it is.
“Getting Noah in will be good, and we expect Cam [Roigard] to be ready to go on the weekend. We’ve still got Kyle Preston if Cortez is not good, and we will need Noah to play on the Tuesday [against the Lions].”
Another selection concern for Rennie is the availability of Damian McKenzie.
The utility back hurt his ankle against the Sharks last Tuesday and was ruled out for the Bulls clash at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday.
“Again, we’re hopeful with him.
“He had a light run yesterday and did a bit more work with the physio this morning when we were doing clarity.
“He’ll play a limited part in the session this afternoon; we’re hoping to get him running by tomorrow [Tuesday] so we will know a bit more in the next 24 hours.”
The All Blacks are also expected to welcome back Will Jordan, Roigard, and skipper Ardie Savea, who joined the squad last week.
All three players are yet to play in this tour and last featured for the All Blacks against Ireland in the Nations Championship close to five weeks ago.
Rennie, however, isn’t concerned about getting the trio up to speed and believes they will slot in seamlessly.
“Cam has played a lot of rugby this year, so him not playing so much lately is not a bad thing.
“Will [Jordan] came into that French test on the back of being out for a long time, so we’re confident they will slot straight in.
“They are clear on our structures and their roles within the team, so we’re just making sure they are physically ready to go.”
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