Two players drafted into All Blacks XV squad

The All Blacks XV have called upon the services of two more players ahead of the team’s end of year tour.

Hurricanes lock/loose forward Caleb Delany and Crusaders lock Jamie Hannah, fresh off an NPC title win with Canterbury, have been drafted in.

They will replace Chiefs lock Naitoa Ah Koui and Hurricanes lock Isaia Walker-Leawere, who were two of the three initial locks named in the squad.

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It is not known if the pair are injured or have been called up to the main squad.

Delany played for the All Blacks XV last year, while he has three caps for the Maori All Blacks going back to 2022.

Hannah, a New Zealand U20 representative in 2022, has not played for the All Blacks XV before and could make his debut on the tour.

The All Blacks XV open their tour against the Barbarians in London on November 1st, before playing England A and Uruguay.

The clash against Uruguay on November 16 has been forced to move cities due to a dispute between the owner of NZR’s key sponsor Altrad, Mohed Altrad, and Montpellier city officials.

The dispute is over the quality of the pitch at Montpellier’s stadium, Septeo Stadium, which is in ‘poor’ condition. Altrad is the president of the Montpellier rugby club, which plays there.

The game has been moved to nearby Béziers as a result.