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The All Blacks stars in action in provincial rugby this weekend
While the current crop of Australian-based All Blacks are in the midst of a well-earned break in the wake of their Rugby Championship success after five straight test matches, there are still a handful of All Blacks in action this weekend.
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In fact, the latest round of provincial matches will provide fans with one last chance to give some insight into how a few of New Zealand’s best players are tracking after months without action before their next test appearance against the United States in Washington DC on October 23.
Headlining that list of players is All Blacks captain Sam Cane, who will play his first match of rugby in more than six months this Saturday.
After tearing a pectoral muscle while playing for the Chiefs against the Blues in March, Cane underwent surgery on his injured pec and one of his shoulders, leaving him sidelined for over half a year.
That has prevented the 29-year-old from taking to the field for the All Blacks thus far in 2021, but he will take his first steps towards returning to the test arena tomorrow in Taupo.
It’s there where Cane will make his long-awaited rugby comeback in a 40-minute cameo for King Country in the Heartland Championship against Whanganui at Owen Delany Park.
Cane’s appearance in New Zealand’s second-tier, amateur provincial competition was made possible because his NPC province, Bay of Plenty, is unable to play their scheduled match against Counties Manukau on Sunday due to Auckland’s Covid-19 lockdown.
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That looked to have denied Cane the chance to play any rugby at all before the All Blacks begin their end-of-year tour, as he and the other New Zealand-based All Blacks will fly out to the American capital next Thursday.
However, a conversation with fellow injured All Black Dane Coles, who still harbours ambitions to represent Horowhenua-Kapiti in the Heartland Championship, persuaded Cane to search for opportunities in the lower levels of the game in a quest for desperately-needed minutes.
King Country has answered those calls, which means Cane will run out onto FedEx Field against the USA Eagles with at least some kind of preparation under his belt.
Coles, who hasn’t played for the All Blacks since their 33-25 victory over the Wallabies in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash in Auckland in August, won’t join Cane in the Heartland Championship, but will make his first rugby outing in two months on Friday.
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The experienced 34-year-old has been named to start at hooker for Wellington in their NPC clash with Canterbury at Sky Stadium in the Kiwi capital.
“The All Blacks chase those one inch gains, whether from a mental or performance perspective.”
– Ex-All Black Mark Robinson assesses Ian Foster’s team after their Rugby Championship campaign. https://t.co/rZtFrYNqqj— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 7, 2021
In doing so, he takes the starting role off of James O’Reilly, who has been demoted to the bench in place of Tyrone Thompson.
The fixture presents Coles with his first opportunity to play since he was left in New Zealand by the All Blacks to recover from a troublesome calf injury that ruled him out just an hour before the kick-off of August’s second Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park.
That match was also the last time veteran lock Sam Whitelock featured in a match of any kind, but that is also set to change when he faces off against Coles while playing for Canterbury in Wellington.
After captaining the All Blacks to a Steinlager Series sweep of Tonga and Fiji and back-to-back Bledisloe Cup victories over the Wallabies in Auckland, Whitelock didn’t travel with Foster’s squad to Australia as he awaited the birth of his third child.
The 32-year-old’s decision to remain in New Zealand for the entirety of the Australian-based Rugby Championship came after the country’s three-week nationwide lockdown in Alert Levels 3 and 4, which has starved him of action for almost two months.
It means Friday’s clash against the Lions will provide Whitelock, who will partner with ex-All Blacks lock Luke Romano in the second row, with some valuable minutes ahead of his likely comeback match against the United States.
Will Jordan is a prolific try-scorer, but he also boasts a bag of tricks unmatched by many wingers in the international game. #AllBlacks
Analysis from @TheChaseRugby ? https://t.co/KshQwEGZNo
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) October 7, 2021
Elsewhere, loose forward Shannon Frizell will make his final appearance for Tasman this season after having played for the Mako throughout their current NPC season.
Frizell wasn’t included in Foster’s travelling squad to Australia as he encountered visa issues relating to his three assault charges earlier this year.
Those charges have since been dropped, though, which has freed the 27-year-old, who last played for the All Blacks against Fiji in Hamilton in July, up to link back up with the national squad in Washington DC.
Before that, he will start at No 8 for Tasman, his fourth appearance for the province this season, in their Ranfurly Shield challenge against Hawke’s Bay in Napier on Saturday.
Meanwhile, uncapped lock Josh Lord, who was the only new player named to travel with the All Blacks on their end-of-year tour on Monday, will make his last appearance for Taranaki this season when they play Otago in Dunedin on Saturday.
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Comments on RugbyPass
True Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
21 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
10 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
78 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
21 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
10 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
21 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
21 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
21 Go to comments