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Uncapped Hurricanes prop called up by the All Blacks
By Ben Smith
The All Blacks have called up uncapped Hurricanes prop Tevita Mafileo as injury cover for the trip to Argentina as they prepare for their Rugby Championship opener.
Doubts over the fitness of Crusaders tighthead Fletcher Newell, who hasn't played since undergoing toe surgery, led to the selection.
Mafileo will join the squad in Auckland and fly out to Argentina on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Hurricanes prop played for the All Blacks XV last November and was named as one of five props in the XV squad to tour Japan but will now provide cover for the All Blacks.
Chiefs breakout star Shaun Stevenson is tipped to travel with the squad as Mark Telea battles injury, while Crusaders pair Leicester Fainga'anuku and Sam Whitelock also are in doubt.
Fainga'anuku has a calf complaint after the Super Rugby final while Whitelock played through an Achilles injury against the doctor's recommendation.
The All Blacks 'didn't want him to play' but the veteran managed to get through unscathed without further injury and is now battling soreness.
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Latest Comments
> 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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