Shaun Stevenson promoted after further All Black injuries
Further injury concerns have come out of All Blacks camp ahead of their flight to Argentina, with Crusaders duo Will Jordan and Leicester Fainga'anuku set to remain in New Zealand.
The two outside backs starred in the Super Rugby Pacific final last weekend, playing the full 80 minutes each.
Both players were likely starters for The Rugby Championship opener had they been healthy, but Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith is reporting that is not the case.
"I'm hearing Will Jordan (precautionary) and Leicester Fainga'anuku (calf) won't travel with the All Blacks to Mendoza. Shaun Stevenson and the Hurricanes' Tevita Mafileo will travel with the side."
Mafileo was included in the squad due to the ongoing rehab of Fletcher Newell from a toe injury.
Stevenson's inclusion only as injury cover drew criticism after a highly productive year as fullback for the Chiefs. Options remain on both the wing and at fullback but the injuries bring Stevenson closer to the fore in his search for an All Blacks debut.
Fainga'anuku's calf injury was reported earlier in the week but Jordan's concern is a more complex one to manage.
The Crusaders' fullback missed last year's Northern Tour and much of this year's Super Rugby Pacific season with an inner ear injury and migraine symptoms.
The injuries cast further confusion over the All Blacks' outside backs selections after a quiet year from Beauden Barrett and the short-term injury to Mark Telea.
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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