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'It's a bit of a tough pill to swallow' - Luke Jacobson opens up about shattered World Cup dream

By Online Editors
Luke Jacobson. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

By Patrick McKendry, NZ Herald

The All Blacks have been hit by what they admit is their first setback of their World Cup defence in Japan: the ongoing concussion problems for Luke Jacobson which will force the loose forward on to an early flight home once he is cleared to get on the plane.

After three concussions in as many months, the 22-year-old will be out of the game for at least three months. A surprise selection in the 31-man squad given his inexperience, it’s a cruel way for the young man’s World Cup dream to end.

“I think you guys can imagine how I’m feeling,” he told reporters from the team’s base in Kashiwa ahead of next Saturday’s opener against South Africa in Yokohama. “It’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow. I found out last night and we made the decision that it’s probably better for my career that I step away now and have some time to recover and hopefully put it all behind me.”

Jacobson, who will be replaced by Shannon Frizell, said he may have received a knock in the All Blacks’ recent test against Tonga in Hamilton which was potentially made worse by the 11-hour flight from Auckland to Tokyo. His most recent problem before that was a concussion suffered in training before the Springboks test in Wellington in July.

He said he didn’t feel 100 per cent at training on Monday and Tuesday and the decision was made last night by coach Steve Hansen and doctor Tony Page that he would fly home as soon as he was able to.

“It’s when I start to throw the ball around and run around that I start to feel it – just light-headedness, dizziness, you don’t feel quite right,” Jacobson said. “You drop a few balls and the skills aren’t quite there.

“It happens, doesn’t it? Throughout the World Cup there will be other people who are injured. It’s not like I’m the only one it happens to. I just have to deal with it and get home. The support has been unreal from the management and the players and people back home.”

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Page said: “He had a concussion last year with a prolonged recovery, so that’s the background, and this year he’s had three in as many months. There’s no single number of concussions that would make you take the player out but our priority is his health and particularly his long-term health. We can’t get caught up in the context of the World Cup. If this was a club player we would do the same thing.”

“It’s a hard conversation … but you look at the other side of it,” Hansen added. “He’s 22 years old and he’s been selected for a Rugby World Cup. That’s a ringing endorsement that he’s got an outstanding career ahead of him.”

Jacobson said he wasn’t “scared” about the prospect of further problems but the enormity of recent events will force him to take it a bit more seriously.

“I’ve always shrugged it off,” he said. “I probably haven’t looked down the barrel at hit as much as I should have. I guess with this happening now … I don’t think it’s scary because there are a lot of players who have been in the same position as me like Ben Smith, Dane Coles, even Richie McCaw had the same sort of problems. It’s comforting to have Ben and Dane around and to talk to them to hear how they got through it. I’m fully confident I’ll be back out there playing.”

Loose forwards Vaea Fifita and Dalton Papalii weren’t available to replace Jacobson due to their own injuries. Hansen said Liam Squire, who had made himself available as an injury replacement in Japan after previously ruling himself out of contention, was not in the frame.

“Not really because nothing has changed,” Hansen said. “It’s happened right at the beginning of the tournament. We had the discussion and that was based around the time over here so nothing has really changed for him.”

Hansen added: “Yes it’s disappointing and it’s a setback but you’re going to get them. There’s an expectation that we’ll have injuries … you’re challenged by those adversities but we’ve just got to get on with it.”

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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