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All Blacks release five players for provincial duty ahead of Bledisloe I
By Tom Vinicombe
While Ian Foster won't reveal his 23 to take on the Wallabies in the opening Bledisloe Cup test of the year until tomorrow, it's a safe bet that five players released for provincial duty this weekend won't feature for the All Blacks on Saturday.
New Zealand's provincial competition, recoined this year as the NPC, kicks off on Friday night with Counties Manukau taking on Manawatu.
The Steelers could be boosted by the addition of new recruit Hoskins Sotutu, who recently switched allegiances from Auckland and has been deemed surplus to requirements by Foster this week.
Three further players have been released for Saturday's fixtures, with 21-year-old lock Tupou Vaa'i set to play for Taranaki against Hawke's Bay, after also representing the Bulls in their latest pre-season fixture.
Vaa'i had an outstanding season for the Chiefs after making his Super Rugby and international debuts last year but wasn't able to earn any minutes for the All Blacks in their July series with Tonga and Fiji. As such, Saturday's match will mark the big lock's sole first-class match since the Chiefs' final game of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
Wellington will also have access to two stars, with Asafo Aumua and TJ Perenara available for duty.
Aumua made one appearance of the bench for the All Blacks in July but a head knock kept him out of the remaining two matches. Perenara, meanwhile, wasn't eligible for selection after spending the first half of the year representing the NTT Red Hurricanes in Japan.
Foster signposted that Perenara was always likely to make his return to action in NZ rugby via Wellington.
Finally, Canterbury utility back Braydon Ennor has also been released for provincial duty - although his match comes on Sunday, against Auckland.
Ennor was initially selected in the All Blacks squad for July but was a late scratching after suffering from appendicitis. Like Perenara, a return to action via the NPC was always on the cards.
The All Blacks confirmed that a further group of players could be made available for their provinces for Sunday's fixtures, depending on what happens in Saturday's test.
Bay of Plenty, Tasman, North Harbour, Waikato, Auckland and Canterbury will all play on Sunday which means that up to 20 further players could technically play in the opening round of the NPC. A large of those players, however, such as Richie Mo'unga, Codie Taylor and Anton Lienert-Brown are all expected to represent the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday, likely ruling them out from contention.
Saturday's match between the All Blacks and Wallabies kicks off at 7:05pm.
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Latest Comments
Cane shouldn’t have been one last year, based purely on performances. Lakai is as close to a like for like of swap of Savea you’re ever likely to find, based on his short career so far at least. He has many of the same qualities - very strong ball carrier, great at the breakdown, and an absolute work horse on defence. I feel like he and Sititi could lead the way in the loose at the next WC.
I think we have become obsessed with replacing Kaino with someone exactly like him. Kaino was a perfect foil for the other loose forwards we had at the time. Based on the talent we have around at the moment those players could be made up in the aggregate by three players who are all exception all rounders - Lakai, Sititi, and Savea. Missing some height for sure but Sititi’s defensive work in the line out last year was phenomenal. He gets off the ground so quickly and was able to steal a couple of balls off the top of the springbok line out.
If our young locks coming through can actually stay fit long enough to get selected, it seems inevitable that Va’ai could end up in a hybrid 6/lock role.
Go to commentsWas strange game, full of errors and the usual refereeing decisions. Both teams suffered as a result but Ospreys discipline was a major factor. I think this weekend will be different as the Ospreys will pick a full strength team but Scarlets will gain confidence in the fact that only Tipuric was missing in the forwards and they dominated that pack for the whole 80 minutes. If they can repeat that dominance at scrum and breakdown then the Scarlets backs will always have more to offer on the front foot.
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