Emoni Narawa shares extent of Eden Park injury that ended his All Blacks season

Opportunities in the black jersey have been few and far between for Emoni Narawa to begin his international career, and in another cruel blow, an injury ended his 2025 campaign as quickly as it began.

While the 26-year-old was brought into the starting XV for game two of July’s France series after injuries to Sevu Reece and Caleb Clarke, it was game one against South Africa in the Rugby Championship where he earned a call-up on form.

It was a dream start for the Chiefs’ flyer, who scored just moments into the Test, collecting a cross-field kick with a diving catch before finding his feet and throwing a dummy that saw him glide past the final defender, Cheslin Kolbe.

But soon after play restarted, Narawa contested another kick, and this time came away second-best.

“It was about four minutes into the game when I went up to contest a high ball and got a direct knee to the ribs,” he reflected this week at Chiefs HQ. “I thought I was just winded at first, but I tried to take a deep breath and just couldn’t.

“I had to go into the medical room. I was blowing on the green whistle for a bit and got taken to hospital, did a few scans and the x-ray found I had broken my rib, and the next day I did a CT scan where I found out I punctured my lung too.

“I spent about four days in hospital, that was tough. But you can’t dwell on the past. I’m back and healthy now.”

The winger said he came away from the injury feeling disappointed to have another chance to prove himself at the highest level slip between his fingers.

“I was definitely disappointed. It was tough,” he added.

“I have had my fair share of injuries, not any small niggles, big ones. I’ve had my back, my wrist and now my ribs and my lungs. I’m just lucky I have my support system around me to help me get through it. So fingers crossed next year goes a bit smoother.”

“I still need to tick a few boxes around the medical team, but the body is definitely feeling great, so fingers crossed, come pre-season game one or two, I should be available.”