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All black people and Blues winger Caleb Clarke has revealed the extent of the shoulder injury that has sidelined him for most of rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa.
Clarke was sent home ahead of the first Test, after picking up a shoulder injury in the second half of the midweek match against Sharks Durban.
The All Blacks outside back played the rest of the contest before post-match scans revealed a torn tendon in his shoulder.
The 27-year-old started on the left wing in Dave Rennie’s first Test match as All Blacks coach against France in Christchurch, before coming off the bench against Ireland in Auckland.
Clarke joined the Sky Sport Breakdown panel on Sunday afternoon to discuss the latest on his injury and when he could return to Jason Holland’s Blues in 2027.
“Yes, (I am) in a few months. I’ll be back hopefully in the second or third round Super Rugby Pacific next year,” Clarke told Sky Sport.
“I did a good job of removing one of the tendons from the bone in my shoulder. So I’m grateful to all the people who put me back together, and now, yeah, I’ve got a lot of time to build up for a really big year next year.”
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has been clear that statistics play a major role in his selection philosophy, particularly in relation to the work rate of his players.
When asked what that philosophy meant to the players, the 35-year-old said it created an incredibly competitive environment.
“I give a lot of credit to Rens and all the management for creating such a great environment, not just for someone like me, but for everyone to really step up and compete for those spots.
“That’s what we’ve been talking about. Whether we’re doing our best in the gym, out in the community, just making sure we’re hitting the hard yards, but at the same time we’re having a lot of fun.”
“Again, we just really wanted to work hard and push each other in training because we were all fighting for those places and there’s only 23 that can go out and represent.
“Again, Rennie has done a great job of making sure we’re really competing against each other, but also putting that team first.”