Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

'One injury away from retirement': All Black great's warning to Cane

By Sam Smith
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Former All Blacks captain Sir Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford has warned that incumbent skipper Sam Cane could be just an injury away from hanging up the boots for good.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cane was announced as one of five New Zealand-based players set to link up with the All Blacks for their northern hemisphere tour of the United States and Europe.

The announcement of his return marked a significant milestone for Cane, who hasn’t played at all since he tore his pectoral muscle while playing for the Chiefs against the Blues in March.

Video Spacer

How the Springboks defeated the All Blacks and the top performers of the Rugby Championship | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

Video Spacer

How the Springboks defeated the All Blacks and the top performers of the Rugby Championship | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

After undergoing surgery on that and one of his shoulders, the 29-year-old flanker is set to play his first game in over six months when he makes a surprise outing for King Country against Whanganui in the Heartland Championship this weekend as part of a seven-day loan deal with Bay of Plenty.

Cane and the other domestically-based All Blacks – Sam Whitelock, Dane Coles, Shannon Frizell and uncapped lock Josh Lord – will then travel to Washington DC next Thursday, three days before the Australian-based squad arrive in the American capital, ahead of the team’s clash against the USA Eagles on October 23.

It’s that test at FedEx Field that Cane is targeting as his return to international rugby in what would be his first appearance for the All Blacks in almost 11 months.

However, Shelford, who played 22 tests for New Zealand between 1986 and 1990, has warned that, although the return of Cane is an undoubted asset for head coach Ian Foster’s side due to his playing ability, he needs to be careful about his health upon his return to action.

ADVERTISEMENT

“He is always probably one injury away from retirement from rugby, especially if it’s to the head,” Shelford told Newstalk ZB.

“He’s had a lot of concussions in his career and if he gets another one, that could be the end of his career quite easily.”

In Cane’s absence from the All Blacks this year, Foster has called on a variety of players to step up and fill the leadership void as captain.

Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Ardie Savea and Brodie Retallick have all captained at least one test each, while veteran playmaker Beauden Barrett served as vice-captain throughout the Rugby Championship.

ADVERTISEMENT

Foster suggested on Monday that an assessment will be made in the United States on who will lead the All Blacks for their test against the Eagles and the following clash against Wales in Cardiff a week later.

The early indications are, though, that Savea, who captained the team for the majority of the Rugby Championship, is likely to retain leadership duties for the USA and Wales tests despite the return of Cane and Whitelock, who was captain for most of the mid-year and Bledisloe Cup series.

Shelford, who captained the All Blacks in 14 tests and was part of New Zealand’s 1987 World Cup-winning squad, said keeping Savea at the helm is important to his development as a leader, which he said will help bring the best out of the 27-year-old.

“I think he’s done a pretty good fist of it … he didn’t win on Saturday but I think he’s doing a good job,” Shelford said.

“But you’ve got to be in the position of captaincy for a while as well, and I think that Ardie probably needs a little more time in the seat to be able to really get the best out of him as a captain.”

He added that he believed Whitelock isn’t a certainty to make it to the 2023 World Cup, while Retallick doesn’t stack up compared to the other leaders of the squad.

“We’ve tried other guys. Whitelock, he might not be there for the World Cup… I don’t think Brodie comes into the picture at all, even though he had that one test match.”

Shelford also noted that burdening Smith, who won’t play for the All Blacks for the rest of the year as he awaits the birth of his second child in New Zealand, with captaincy duties could be detrimental to his status as the world’s best halfback.

“I wouldn’t want to see Aaron take on the captaincy in a bigger role because, his job as halfback, he’s just so good at what he does, you wouldn’t want to burden him with having that extra responsibility. He is the number one halfback in the world today.

“His passing is so accurate, his option taking – all those sorts of things – he gees up the boys really well and I wouldn’t want him to get it solely because it could damage his game a little bit if he has to worry about captaining and making other decisions.”

Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
Adrian 1 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

9 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Diamond demands law change while accusing Tigers of illegal activity Diamond demands law change while accusing Tigers of illegal activity
Search