Three All Blacks ruled out of Nations Championship with more uncertain

The All Blacks have announced that three players will miss the Northern Tour due to injuries, further extending an already extensive injury list.

Shannon Frizell, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Tyrel Lomax are the latest casualties, with each expected to miss around six weeks.

Frizell, who recently returned to the Test fold after three seasons in Japan, went down with a knee injury in the second Bledisloe Test, and scans have since revealed a PCL rupture.

Taukei’aho also failed to finish the second Bledisloe game after picking up a calf problem, which scans later found to be a torn gastrocnemius.

Lomax, who has had an injury-ravaged few seasons, has aggravated a pre-existing disc injury. The team has decided to leave the tighthead prop at home to give the injury time to heal ahead of a big 2027.

The team is still assessing further injuries, including that of star playmaker Richie Mo’unga, ahead of next Tuesday’s squad naming. The 36-man squad will be the final of 2026, and face Scotland, Wales and then England before the inaugural Nations Championship finals.