At least one injury-enforced absence looms for All Blacks at Twickenham

All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has issued an injury update following his side’s win over Scotland, revealing some mixed news for the side.

New Zealand will square off with England at Twickenham in their penultimate Test of the 2025 season, hoping to win both remaining fixtures and emerge from the season with just two losses from 13 games. Two further losses would equal their defeat tally from last year’s season, the coach’s first in charge of the team.

But as Robertson revealed from the All Blacks’ training base in Teddington, there will be at least one absentee from this weekend’s Test.

“Scott Barrett’s making great progress,” the coach told the media on Monday evening. “Tomorrow’s training is important for him to get through, for him to be available. But he’s tracking well.

“Caleb Clarke’s unavailable for this Test match; he’s got a 12-day stand-down and is looking good for the next Test match.”

The coach also mentioned that there were some considerations to be made regarding fatigue, given his side is now 11 games deep in the Test season.

“Of course, we’re a few games in. You’ve got a decent Test schedule, and you manage them through training, mental load, and physical load. And your meetings.

“It’s great here, you walk off the back deck and you’re at training. You’ve got no bus time. It’s a beautiful little village.

“It’s great we had that four-week period before we came over, to get ourselves physically ready and freshen up, and get a bit of UV before we head over here.

“It’s been good. The boys are fresh, but battle-hardened.”

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While New Zealand selectors will have to weigh up their options on the left edge in Clarke’s absence, there will also be emphasis on keeping the bench loaded with the required firepower.

The reserve unit was instrumental in New Zealand’s Edinburgh win over the weekend, and Robertson is expecting another tight game in London.

“If you look at the recent history of England Test matches, they come down to small margins at the end of games, and it was like that very much against Scotland, wasn’t it? There were big momentum swings, and a couple of moments, and we fought our way back.

“I was just really pleased with the calmness of the leaders and the ability to take moments and execute.”

Robertson went on to highlight how being named on the bench in Test rugby has become as big a role as starting, and acknowledged the All Blacks’ struggles in the final quarter of games last year.

“That’s the balance. We’ve known that. The Test matches that were in our hands, we’d led; the execution hadn’t quite gone our way. Not being able to stack positive moments together and then getting a group to come on and swing momentum and stay on top of it and execute at key times.

“It’s something we’ve really focused on, and it’s great to see that change. It’s really critical for us. You definitely look at it when you name your side, probably with more focus than you normally would, because you know how those margins are. Test matches are made in the last 20…

“It’s a 23, isn’t it? And it’s a 36 that gets you ready for the week, 23 on game day. Who’s starting, who’s finishing is just as important.

“You look at Keven Mealamu, he’s a prime example. A humble hero, tough, whatever’s best for the team, and he’s a fine example of it.”