All Blacks suffer injury blow as Taranaki hooker replaces George Bell

The All Blacks have been dealt with their first injury blow of the Greatest Rivalry Tour, with Crusaders hooker George Bell going down with a calf injury in Cape Town.

Bell, who was one of the All Blacks’ ten additional players for the South Africa tour, will travel home ahead of the Stormers fixture this weekend, after picking up a calf injury at training.

In the press release from South Africa, the All Blacks explained that Bell’s injury was a calf strain, and the 24-year-old will be out for four-to-six weeks.

The Crusaders hooker will be replaced by Taranaki and Blues hooker Bradley Slater, who is uncapped at Test level, but has played in both All Blacks XV campaigns.

Slater, who represented Taranaki last weekend in the first round of the Hilux NPC against Counties Manukau, is set to join the squad in Cape Town on Wednesday.

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie said he feels for Bell, who has had a tough time with injuries over the last couple of years.

“We are all gutted for George, to be ruled out of the tour so early,” Rennie said from Cape Town.

“He’s had a frustrating past few months with injury so it’s a real blow for him to have injured his calf again. We look forward to seeing him return via the NPC and put himself in a position to push for All Blacks selection later in the year.”