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international
The All black people they brought in Emoni Narava to cover for the injured Richie Mo’unga, who will miss both tests in the Bledisloe Cup series with a calf complaint.
Mo’unga was initially named internally to start this weekend’s Test against the Wallabies but suffered a setback in training on Tuesday, ruling him out and triggering changes to the 23rd match. As a result, Damian McKenzie will start at 10 with Beauden Barrett at full back.
Mo’ung’s timetable for a return remains unclear, Dave Rennie told reporters Auckland on Thursday, if a calf injury rules the playmaker out of the Northern Tour, the team could look for a new, young playmaker.
“There’s a couple of guys that have done really well in the NPC,” Rennie said when looking ahead to a potential Nations Championship without Mo’ung, with Ruben Love also unavailable for the remainder of the year.
Narawa has been an All Black since 2023, but is more often than not a replacement for a series of injuries in the team, despite some impressive displays on several occasions on the field. With the Bay of Plenty NPC season over, Narava’s call will not disrupt any quarter-finals this weekend.
The same cannot be said for Chay Fihaki’s roll call, with the outside back named on the right wing for Canterbury before replacing Fehi Fineanganofo in camp this week.
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie revealed on Thursday that he had considered letting go Taranaki first-five Josh Jacomb from the suit camp in the quarter-final clash against North Harbour, but after Mo’unga’s injury he thought it best to keep the extra No.10 on hand.
