Report: All Blacks lose another star to injury ahead of July test series against Tonga and Fiji
The All Blacks have reportedly lost yet another key player just weeks out from their July test series against Tonga and Fiji.
According to a report from the New Zealand Herald, the All Blacks will be without their most experienced midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown after he underwent minor elbow surgery on Friday.
The Herald reports the 26-year-old’s elbow has been locking up in recent weeks, with scans revealing bone fragment concerns that required minor keyhole surgery.
The successful surgery is expected to leave Lienert-Brown sidelined for New Zealand’s July 3 test against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland and the July 10 test against Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
The Chiefs veteran could recover in time for the second Fijian test at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on July 17, according to the Herald, but his absence in at least the first two tests will leave significant hole in Ian Foster’s side.
Having been in the All Blacks set-up since 2016, Lienert-Brown has accrued 49 test caps and was used heavily during the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
He was again used as a regular starter last year, playing at centre alongside Jack Goodhue, who was deployed at second-five.
With Goodhue ruled out for the season due to an ACL injury and Ngani Laumape set to leave for France in the coming weeks, Lienert-Brown stood as by far the most accomplished available midfielder in New Zealand prior to his surgery.
However, Foster will now be tasked with competing against the two Pacific Island nations without three of his top midfielders, leaving him bereft of many experienced options in that area of the squad.
Blues star Rieko Ioane is in the second year of his full-time switch from the wing to the midfield at the Auckland franchise and will now be the most established midfield candidate at Foster’s disposal.
Despite his 34 test caps, Ioane is yet to prove himself as an international midfielder, with his only opportunity last year coming in the first Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies in Wellington, where he butchered a certain try and was caught out defensively.
Following that match, Foster used the 24-year-old either as a wing or a bench reserve for the remainder of the test season.
How will tonight’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final be won? @TheChaseRugby analyses how the Blues and the Highlanders have approached the season – and what to look out for in the all-Kiwi clash. #SuperRugbyTT #BLUvHIGhttps://t.co/dhlYM6tzQN
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) June 18, 2021
Whether the All Blacks boss has faith in Ioane to perform in the midfield next month remains to be seen, but in Crusaders trio David Havili, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Braydon Ennor, Foster has a promising, yet inexperienced, group of contenders to pick from.
Between the three of them there are just four test caps, with Fainga’anuku uncapped at test level, but all three have shown their class at various stages of the Super Rugby season.
Havili and Fainga’anuku combined well to impress in the midfield for the Crusaders throughout Super Rugby Aotearoa, while Ennor worked his way back into the franchise’s starting lineup after nine months of action as a result of an ACL injury.
All three players are tipped to make Foster’s upcoming squad, which will be announced next week, and with Lienert-Brown now unavailable for at least the first two tests, it’s not unfathomable to suggest two of those three could start in the midfield against Tonga and/or Fiji.
Foster may be wary of Ennor’s recent injury return, though, while Fainga’anuku has drawn critics for the defensive side of his game.
But, the 21-year-old also offers versatility by being able to play on the wing, and – with a 1.88m, 109kg frame – provides plenty of physicality with ball in hand.
That made for a good partnership with Havili, who’s skill set is more comparable to that of a playmaker, in the Crusaders’ midfield, and Foster may look to utilise that chemistry without a raft of his frontline players available.
Why would Lachlan Boshier, who’s so good at his core role, particularly against fellow Kiwi opposition, not be able to break into the All Blacks? #Chiefs #AllBlacks https://t.co/mcliQDqtqP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 18, 2021
The only other capped midfielder in New Zealand is Peter Umaga-Jensen, but the one-test Hurricanes powerhouse struggled to impress in Super Rugby this year with limited game time with only five starts from 10 appearances throughout 2021.
Other options, such as recently-named Maori All Blacks midfielders Quinn Tupaea, Alex Nankivell and Billy Proctor, could come into the reckoning, but the loss of Lienert-Brown will no doubt hurt the All Blacks’ depth across the board.
The news of Lienert-Brown’s injury will be a particularly hefty blow given the All Blacks already have a raft of players unavailable for the Tonga and Fiji tests because of injury.
In addition to Goodhue’s season-ending knee injury, captain Sam Cane is out of action until later in the year due to a pectoral injury sustained in March.
First-choice props Joe Moody and Ofa Tuungafasi will also be unavailable after picking up foot and knee injuries, respectively, while rising Highlanders star Folau Fakatava’s All Blacks chances ended along with his season when he tore his ACL in April.
Factor in Laumape’s defection to Stade Francais and Caleb Clarke’s commitment to the Olympics with the All Blacks Sevens side, and the All Blacks will be without numerous key figures next month.
Just who Foster decides to replace them with will be revealed when he names his first 36-man squad of the year on Monday evening.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments