Scott Robertson addresses Finau and Barrett injuries after France loss

The All Blacks will be down yet another flanker when they face Italy in Turin to finish Scott Robertson’s first year as head coach, with Samipeni Finau ineligible for selection after suffering a concussion in the team’s loss to France over the weekend.

The New Zealand squad were already without players like Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Sam Cane, although the good news is Cane is on track to be available for selection against Italy in what would be his final game for the All Blacks.

Robertson said the deep gash Cane suffered against Ireland was healing well. The All Blacks will be hoping Cane is cleared for the Test, not just to farewell the former captain with a strong performance, but to bolster what is an inexperienced available loose forward unit.

With Finau’s early exit just one minute into the France test, one-cap 21-year-old Peter Lakai came into the game for a 79-minute shift alongside fellow Test rookie Wallace Sititi and vice-captain Ardie Savea.

Finau’s concussion comes with protocols that will cause him to miss the upcoming Italy Test.

“That’s a 12-day stand-down for a start, so he’s not available,” Robertson told media the morning after the loss.

Should Cane also fail to meet the mark, Lakai would be staring at his first Test start and the All Blacks would have to call on another of their recently recruited uncapped All Blacks XV players to fortify the bench. Those candidates are Christian Lio-Willie and Du’Plessis Kirifi.

Robertson had high praise for Lakai after the game, calling him “the future”, he doubled down on that sentiment the next morning.

“He was accurate, volunteered, backed his skill set. He had a great game for a second Test and with the enormity of it, it was special,” he said.

The other injury withdrawal from the Paris Test was inside centre Jordie Barrett, who had a rib complaint but more concerningly a knee injury. The coach made it clear the knee in question was Barrett’s right knee, not the left one which recently suffered an MCL injury.

“He’s woken up a little bit better, he’ll get a scan and get that checked this morning so we’ll have more on that later today,” Robertson reported, adding there were no more significant concerns on the injury front: “Just a few bumps and bruises but nothing of note.”

Injury won’t be the only factor dictating selection for the Italy Test though, with fatigue after 13 Tests in five months to consider as well as finding opportunities for younger players against a team New Zealand have historically beaten by an average of 51 points.

“It will be the best team for Italy. This year’s been a great year for us to play 12 debutants, give them game time, get them in, get good combinations and get a bit of cohesion going and this week will be no different.

“A few of these guys are coming into their fourth game in a row now, because we had a few that played Japan, and we’ll get the balance for the best team this week.”