Josh Lord opens up on 11-month injury layoff and ‘special’ All Blacks return

When the All Blacks revealed their 36-man squad for the Rugby Championship earlier this month, there were some interesting selections and shocking omissions.

The inclusion of five debutants in the squad – including Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard and Crusaders flyer Dallas McLeod – dominated headlines, as expected.

But the absences of players including Hoskins Sotutu, Brad Weber, and even Shaun Stevenson from the initial squad, certainly raised some eyebrows.

But amongst all the chatter, clutter and widespread excitement, the inclusion of Chiefs lock Josh Lord somewhat flew under the radar.

Lord, who is the fifth-tallest player in All Blacks history, made his Test debut against the United States in Washington back in 2021. The rising star made one more appearance during the end-of-season tour – and the lock appeared destined for more.

But a knee injury ended Lord's Super Rugby season in 2022, and prevented the second-rower from returning to the All Blacks – and the Chiefs as well.

Lord returned for the Chiefs in the ninth round of Super Rugby Pacific this year and went on to make a further three appearances for the eventual runners-up - but there's plenty more to look forward to in 2023.

With the Rugby World Cup nigh on the horizon, Lord opened up about the “special” opportunity to return to the national setup.

“It’s always pretty special to hear your name called out,” Lord told RugbyPass.

“When you get the chance to work with some world-class players and some bloody coaches, and hopefully push hard to play a few games and put my best foot forward really.

“It’s definitely going to be special. There’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into it from not just myself but the medical team as well as mates and family.

“It’s special to be able to share the journey along with them.”

Lord was actually selected for the All Blacks’ squad to take on northern hemisphere heavyweights Ireland last year, but had to withdraw due to injury.

After a tough 11 months, the 2.03m lock returned to the rugby field with the Chiefs Development side, and later club side Coastal in Taranaki.

Lord clearly took things day by day and just focused on what he could control. But the towering lock did say that the goal of returning to the All Blacks “was always in the back of my mind.”

“I guess it was always in the back of my mind. Like everyone, you always wanted to push for higher honours and represent your country,” he added.

“I guess for me at the time it was just more about getting out there, enjoying a bit of footy and trying to stay healthy and then just letting things happen.

“If it’s meant to be it will be, and if it’s not meant to be it’s not the end of the world. That was my mindset.”

Still only 22 years of age, Lord has plenty of rugby ahead of him.

But the tough 11 months on the sidelines haven’t exactly been for nothing, either. Lord has returned to competitive rugby with a new perspective - which at such a young age could be prove invaluable.

“Just going out there and enjoying it and taking each game by game and like I said, if you go out there the game will take care of whatever else is meant to happen.

“I’ve kind of gone from being not injured to sitting on the sidelines for 11 months, so it was a bit of a shock to the system.

“It was also good to spend a bit of time away from footy, spend a bit of time with friends and family.

“It kind of changes your perspective, probably a little bit more time that goes into rehab stuff which is probably not a bad thing to be learning earlier on in your career.”

The All Blacks begin their Rugby Championship campaign against Los Pumas in Mendoza, Argentina next month.

New Zealand will then return home to face the Springboks in Auckland before travelling across the ditch to take on Eddie Jones’ Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.