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Hansen explains Smith absence, tips Jordie Barrett to shine
New Zealand full-back Ben Smith has been cleared of concussion, with head coach Steve Hansen revealing an “inner ear malfunction” was the reason for the full-back being ruled out of the second and third Tests against the British and Irish Lions.
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Smith came off in the first half of the series opener at Eden Park with an apparent head injury and sat out last weekend’s Test in Wellington.
The vastly experienced 31-year-old has also been left out for this weekend’s decider, but Hansen said: “He doesn’t have a concussion problem, he wasn’t knocked out.”
Explaining Smith’s absence, Hansen added: “What he does have is an inner ear malfunction, which is causing him to get a bit of vertigo and dizziness. That’s now cleared and that’s great news for him and [his wife] Katy.
“He doesn’t have a concussion problem, he wasn’t knocked out.
– Coach Steve Hansen. READ: https://t.co/jYgb9xjJrJ#LionsNZ2017 #NZLvBIL pic.twitter.com/1NoRi0PQpZ— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 6, 2017
“It takes a weight off their shoulders knowing that what we’ve deemed to think was concussion two or three times this year was actually another problem, which they’ve now been able to identify and start to medicate him and fix which is great news.”
Waisake Naholo and Rieko Ioane will also be missing for the All Blacks on Saturday. Naholo is being given more time to recover from the concussion he suffered in the second Test, while Ioane was ill earlier in the week.
In their absence, Israel Dagg and the recalled Julian Savea will start on the wings, with Jordie Barrett set to make his first start at full-back.
Barrett – the younger brother of All Blacks fly-half Beauden – has been backed to shine by Hansen.
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“He’s very good aerial – they’re gonna give us plenty of high ball to catch and he’s a good defender when he gets his positioning right, we’ve worked hard on that with him,” said the New Zealand coach.
“He’s a very skilful rugby player, there’s no doubt about that. He played well enough for the Hurricanes against the Lions and we’re excited. With Bender [Smith] obviously not being available and then the other two wingers not being considered, he’s in.
“Do we have confidence? Yeah, we do, we wouldn’t have picked him in the first place if we didn’t. He comes from fairly good stock so I’m picking he will go alright.
“Whatever he does on Saturday is just the beginning, he’s just going to get better and better. But he wouldn’t be put in the position if we didn’t trust him. We do.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
It’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
4 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
2 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
4 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
2 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
5 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
5 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
5 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
5 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
4 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
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