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All black people Assistant coach Mike Blair highlighted the positives of calling up four new players, despite losing four players to injury following their 31-point win over the Wallabies in Auckland.
Arguably the most talked about player not to wear the All Blacks jersey in 2026, Du’Plessis Kirifi, will travel to Sydney for the second Bledisloe Cup Test, following injuries to Ethan Blackadder and Anton Segner.
Segner and Asafo Aumua clashed heads during the second half, resulting in two unsuccessful HIAs, while Blackadder pulled off with a calf injury in the warm-up. Crusaders and All Blacks lock Jamie Hannah will also return, having appeared on several occasions in the South Africa in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
Leroy Carter’s worrying ankle injury saw Anton Lienert-Brown return, suggesting Dave Rennie feels he has suitable outside cover after drafting Chay Fihaki and Emoni Narawa into the All Blacks squad late last week.
Before traveling to Sydney for the second Test, Blair explained to reporters at Auckland Airport who are excited to get their hands on Kirifi.
“It’s great we got a chance to look at him. He hasn’t been in the group yet,” the All Blacks attack coach said on Sunday.
“But to get to know him a little bit better — his personality, his leadership, the impact he can have on the group is exciting for him and exciting for us.
“The provincial games we played allowed us to look at the players and see them in our systems. We know how physical the game is these days… It’s unfortunate that (the injuries) happened but it’s a great opportunity to build depth before the World Cup.”
Many believed Hurricanes the co-captain was rejected for the starting 34-man squad for the home All Blacks Nations Championship Tests, where Rennie and together decided on Anton Segner.
Prior to Kirifi’s call-up for the second Bledisloe Cup Test, the All Blacks head coach compared Kirifi’s stats to Segner’s, highlighting the difference in discipline between the two players.
“Look, he is (Kirifi) an excellent player. But if he was the the best seven in the country in our opinion, we would to have chose him,” said Rennie Newstalk ZB on Saturday, October 3.
“I so I think about it fast tackle is his period of difference, and the feedback we are given Dupes is around technique and I’m trying that to be a a lot more impeccable there.”
“So he gets punished as many times as he works awarded, against someone like Anton bless, WHO Got 22 traffic, and got punished twice during Great rugby, and at the taller you go, the tougher the judges are around you will be legal.
“So, and look, we are got, you know, good players WHO I can lid that position. We are used Fifth Lacquers there. We are apparently used Ardie there. So look, it is competitive, which is really positively of our period of view.”