All Blacks hit with injuries to Loose Forward trio

The All Blacks loose forward stocks have taken a hit, with three players ruled out of next week’s test against Japan.

Ethan Blackadder (calf), Luke Jacobson (fractured thumb) and Dalton Papali’i (upper hamstring) will not be available to travel with the squad on Thursday due to injury.

That has created an opportunity for 21-year-old Hurricanes and Wellington loose forward Peter Lakai, and 23-year-old Chiefs and Taranaki lock Josh Lord to come into the squad. For Lakai, it means a potential test debut next Saturday in Yokohama.

Jacobson has played off the bench in the last three tests of the Rugby Championship and started against Fiji in San Diego while Blackadder and Papali’i have started tests earlier in the season only to drop down the pecking order behind Wallace Sititi and Sam Cane in recent squads.

“This is hugely disappointing for Ethan, Luke and Dalton, but we know they will be working on recovering well with a view to making themselves available again as soon as possible,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said.

“This opens up opportunities for some other players though. We are excited to be welcoming Josh back into the group and giving Peter Lakai his chance to wear the All Blacks jersey,”

“We will assess the status of Ethan, Luke and Dalton’s injuries prior to travelling to England, to determine whether we are going to require that additional injury cover,” Robertson said.

In addition, seven members of the All Blacks XV squad will be travelling to Japan with the All Blacks as training cover. These players will then join the All Blacks XV squad in Ireland, with the possible exception of one further call-up to cover the 36th spot in the All Blacks squad.

Forwards (Position / Age / Super Rugby Club / Province)
Bradley Slater (Hooker / 26 / Chiefs / Taranaki)
George Bower (Prop / 32 / Crusaders / Otago)
Fabian Holland (Lock / 21 / Highlanders / Otago)
Christian Lio-Willie (Loose forward / 26 / Crusaders / Otago)
Oliver Haig (Loose forward / 22 / Highlanders / Otago)

Backs (Position / Age / Super Rugby Club / Province)
Harry Plummer (First five-eighth / 26 / Blues / Auckland)
AJ Lam (Mid-fielder / 26 / Blues / Auckland)

All Blacks Tests 2024
October 26, 6.50pm - All Blacks v Japan, Yokohama
November 3, 4.10am - All Blacks v England, Twickenham
November 9, 9.10am - All Blacks v Ireland, Dublin
November 17, 9.10am - All Blacks v France, Paris
November 24, 9.10am - All Blacks v Italy, Turin

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission