Knee wrecks Tito's Maori tour chance

Injured Hurricanes lock Paul Tito will not be available for the New Zealand Maori tour of Australia next month.

Coach Mat Te Pou confirmed yesterday that Tito had finished the Super 12 with a knee injury which would rule him out of their four games, including the clash with the Wallabies in Perth on June 15.

Their other matches are against Queensland in Brisbane on June 4, New South Wales in Sydney on June 8 and an Invitation XV at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on June 21.

Others eligible for Maori selection who are out of the running because of injuries are Troy Flavell, Ron Cribb, David Hill and Mark Cooksley.

Besides those players, Te Pou believes at least a further six of Maori ancestry will be involved in the All Blacks and will miss the matches in Australia.

But Te Pou, who has liaised closely with All Black coach John Mitchell and his selectors, hopes that when the All Black squad is cut from 26 to 22 for the test against Italy, any Maori players not required will be released.

Maori players either certainties for the All Blacks or on the fringe include Leon MacDonald, Caleb Ralph, Roger Randle, Carlos Spencer, Kees Meeuws, Greg Feek, Norman Maxwell, Taine Randell and possibly Dion Waller.

Despite all the absentees, Te Pou was confident New Zealand Maori would have a strong squad for what he believed was one the toughest programmes in recent years.

He noted that the Crusaders squad contained many Maori players and in all, 54 eligible for Maori selection appeared in the Super 12.

Some of those who seem likely to feature in this year's side are Willie Walker, Ryan Nicholas, David Gibson, Carl Hayman, Joe McDonnell (all Highlanders), Joe Maddock, Daryl Gibson, Corey Flynn (Crusaders), Riki Flutey, Brendan Haami, Shannon Paku, Bryce Robins, Tony Penn (Hurricanes), David Briggs, Bruce Reihana, Glen Jackson, Deacon Manu, Kirstian Ormsby, Glen Jackson, Rhys Duggan, Todd Miller (Chiefs), Mark Mayerhofler, Rico Gear, Blair Urlich, Slade McFarland and Matua Parkinson (Blues).

Flynn is eligible for the New Zealand Colts side, but Te Pou said Maori selection had precedence.

Te Pou was annoyed by Queensland's decision to name their side a Queensland XV because some first-choice players would be away with the Wallabies.

'We will have players missing, too, but it is going to be New Zealand Maori, not a Maori XV," he said.

- NZPA