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All Blacks call up three players to cover injury
By Online Editors
Locks Luke Romano and Tom Franklin and loose forward Matt Todd are set to join the All Blacks camp in Auckland this week as injury cover.
The Crusaders pair of Romano and Todd have previously represented the All Blacks 10 and 13 times respectively, while 27-year-old Highlander Franklin is part of the squad for the first time.
Franklin has previously represented New Zealand at the U20 level and has played for the Maori All Blacks.
The replacements were called in after Chiefs lock and All Blacks regular Brodie Retallick suffered a pectoral injury during his side's loss to the Crusaders on Saturday night. He has since been ruled out of the first test on June 9 at Eden Park. Chiefs co-captain and flanker Sam Cane (abdominal strain) was a late scratch on Saturday after he was set to make his Super Rugby return following a five-week sideline spell, hence the call-up of Todd.
Romano and Todd's Crusaders teammate, Sam Whitelock, is also in doubt after being sidelined for the last three weeks with concussion symptoms.
Whitelock is joined under an injury cloud by the uncapped pair of Jack Goodhue (hamstring) and Jordan Taufua (calf), who were both expected to be fit for the first test.
It is yet to be announced whether the All Blacks will call in an extra midfielder after Sonny Bill Williams was ruled out of the series with a knee injury.
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Latest Comments
This is true.
But perhaps because rugby is Australia’s fourth (or worse) most popular sport, there is just no coaching talent good enough.
It’s interesting that no players from the Aussies golden era (say between 1987 - 2000) have emerged as international quality coaches. Or coaches at all.
Again, Australians are the problem methinks. Not as interested in the game. Not as interested to support the game. Not as interested to get into the game.
And like any other industry in the world - when you don’t have the capabilities or the skills, you import them.
Not difficult to understand really.
Go to commentsi think Argentina v France could be a good game too, depending on which Argentina turns up. The most difficult to call is Scotland Australia.
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