The All Blacks are set to call on one of Liam Coltman or James Parsons for the second Bledisloe Test, as the squad deals with a handful of injuries.
Coltman and Parsons will join the squad for the second Test with Nathan Harris (knee) and Codie Taylor (concussion) out of the Wellington match, meaning one of them will almost certainly feature in the 23.
The last-minute injury blows for the All Blacks last week meant that injured Hurricanes skipper Dane Coles was forced to play 77 minutes of the Sydney Test, despite Steve Hansen initially planning to give him an extra week of recovery.
It’s not just their front row calling for replacements, with Damian McKenzie, Seta Tamanivalu and Reiko Ioane called into the team to cover their backs.
Centre George Moala will not feature in the rest of the Rugby Championship after suffering a knee injury in training, while winger Waisake Naholo (hamstring) will miss the second Bledisloe Test and Ryan Crotty’s head knock will also see him miss this weekend’s match up.
Flanker Matt Todd has been released, after coming into the squad as injury cover for Sam Cane.
The second Bledisloe Test will be at 6:05pm AEST in Wellington on Saturday night.
