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All Blacks captain Sam Cane ruled out of World Cup opener
By Finn Morton
The All Blacks have suffered a major blow ahead of their Rugby World Cup opener with skipper Sam Cane picking up an injury in Thursday’s captain’s run.
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Veteran Brodie Retallick has been thrown back into the mix and will come off the bench in Friday night’s clash with France, and Tupou Vaa’i will start at blindside flanker.
Dalton Papali’i will also shift from one flank to the other, and will now run out up in the No. 7 jersey in Cane’s absence. Backrower Ardie Savea will also take up the captaincy for the Test.
“It’s a privilege to play in the opening game of Rugby World Cup 2023,” coach Ian Foster said in a statement earlier this week.
“What makes it extra special is playing the host nation who are a very proud and in-form team.
“World Cups are different. The initial goal is to qualify for the quarterfinals and to do that we must build our game through the pool stage. That starts in game one where we have an opportunity to compete against one of the clear tournament favourites.”
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I am really excited to see what Scott Robertson will do, but I don't think New Zealand fans should hold their breath. There has been a genuine transfer of power from the southern to the northern hemisphere, and while New Zealand will almost certainly dominate the Rugby Championship for the next few years (South Africa are set for a period of massive instability given the refusal of Rassie and Jacques to plan for the future) that might not translate to wins up north.
Go to commentsThe Wallabies will never be successful while the Tahs insist their second rate players like Porecki and Donaldson are selected and Eddie goes along with it to please them. Neither Porecki nor Donaldson are in the top three players in their position in Australia but there they are captaining Australia and controlling the game. How the hell does your captain get penalised for being too lazy to roll away from a ruck 2 minutes in to a must win World Cup game. The sense of self entitlement to put yourself in that position, as captain, is breathtaking and disgraceful. The Wallabies never stood a chance, which must really really irk the other players ......
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