Sam Cane given all clear after neck injury scare against the Hurricanes
Liam Napier/NZ Herald
Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett rushed to check in on their prone mate but Warren Gatland moved to allay fears All Blacks captain Sam Cane may have been seriously injured against the Hurricanes.
Chiefs captain Cane took a heavy knock colliding with Jordie Barrett's knee 26 minutes into his side's 31-18 defeat in Wellington.
The incident left Cane prone on the turf and there was immediate concern from Barrett and nearby Coles before trainers and medics arrived.
While he regained consciousness and eventually walked from the field, Cane did not return and will now face return-to-play testing measures.
"I've got a close relationship with Sammy and he didn't look too good," Hurricanes captain Coles said.
"I caught up with him after the game and he seems stable to be fair. You've got to feel for the fella, it's a tough gig with a few of those. We wish him all the best with recovery and getting well."
Concern for Cane stems from the neck fracture he suffered in South Africa playing for the All Blacks that almost ended his career two years ago.
With his leading defensive presence Cane is a naturally abrasive player who repeatedly puts himself in compromising positions.
Gatland, however, cleared Cane of major damage to his neck area on this occasion, and with the Chiefs finishing their 0-8 season one week early for the bye, the newly-appointed national captain has three weeks to recover for the North versus South match on August 29 at Eden Park.
"He was a loss for us. He's had a knock, I don't think it was anything to do with his neck," Gatland said.
"He's lined Jordie up, and he's come down and hit him. It looks like it's a concussion that he'll go through. Talking to him in the changing rooms he seems okay. He can remember what happened, so it's not like he can't recall the incident, so he'll need to go through the return-to-play protocols."
This article first appeared on the New Zealand Herald and is republished with permission here.
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wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
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