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'I've got three kids, I'll be on the first plane out of here'
By AAP
All Blacks hooker Dane Coles said on Wednesday he has no concerns about heading to Australia for more than two months for the Rugby Championship, joking that he could use the time away from his three children.
The All Blacks are due to head to Australia for the southern hemisphere tournament that has matches from November 7 through to December 12 after two Bledisloe Cup Test games against the Wallabies in New Zealand next month.
Biosecurity protocols mean players will be away from their families for about nine weeks.
"I've got three kids, I'll be on that first plane out of here," Coles told reporters in Wellington while laughing. "It's our job and we have got to go over there, and playing for the black jersey sometimes takes a little bit of sacrifice.
"It's a little bit longer but if you have got to do it, you have got to do it. I'm definitely putting my hand up to go over there and play for the All Blacks."
Coles, the 33-year-old hooker who has 69 caps since making a 2012 All Blacks debut away to Scotland at Murrayfield, added that he would support any of his teammates who opted not to go. However, he was reluctant to discuss concerns about whether the Championship might not go ahead.
The Argentina squad have been dealing with an outbreak of Covid-19 infections and, like world champions South Africa, their domestic-based players have not played since March and would be lacking match fitness.
"I don't want to go into it further because there are that many rumours going on... right now we have got two weeks of guaranteed footy and that is awesome," Coles said. "Any rugby, especially All Blacks footy, at the moment would be pretty good."
South Africa go into the Championship as defending champions after winning the shortened 2019 tournament prior to winning the World Cup in Japan.
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Latest Comments
I so wish we could use BIG words here to say what an absolute %^$# this guy is, but we can't so I won't.
Go to commentsGet world rugby to buy a few Islands in the Mediterranean. Name them Rugby Island #1, #2, #3 etc. All teams are based there all season and as the knockouts progress, losers go home for a few months rest. Sell the TV rights to any and all.
Have an open ballot/lottery each week to fly fans out to fill the stadiums. They get to enter the draw if they pay their taxes and avoid crime which would encourage good social engagement from rugby supporters as responsible citizens. The school kids get in the draw if they are applying themselves at school and reaching their potential.
Or maybe there is some magic way to prioritise both domestic rugby and international rugby by having the same players playing for 12 months of the year...
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