Jordie Barrett (L), Folau Fakatava (C) and Sam Whitelock (R). Photos / Photosport
Jordie Barrett (L), Folau Fakatava (C) and Sam Whitelock (R). Photos / Photosport
The All Blacks have been forced to make a flurry of late changes to their squad to tour the Northern Hemisphere, with several stars ruled out or having their departure delayed due to personal reasons or injury.
All three Barrett brothers - Beauden, Jordie and Scott – missed the flight to Japan due to the death of their grandmother, while injuries to Sam Whitelock, Will Jordan and Folau Fakatava mean they will also not immediately travel.
Fakatava has been hit by the worst news in the group after suffering a season-ending ACL injury, while Whitelock and Jordan still have a chance to join the tour during their stint in the UK.
As a result, four players have been drafted into the squad from the All Blacks XV team: halfback Brad Weber, backline utility Damian McKenzie, lock Patrick Tuipulotu and hooker Asafo Aumua.
The Barrett brothers will fly to Japan mid-late next week and while it wasn't specified if they will be available for the first test of the tour against Japan next weekend, their chances of a starting role appear slim, as players are generally not considered for selection if they don't participate in the Tuesday training session.
"Sad news for the Barrett family with their grandmother passing away, so those three will obviously go down [to the South Island] with their family and rejoin us mid-to-late next week," coach Ian Foster told NZME on Saturday.
The injuries to Whitelock and Jordan appear minor, but the All Blacks are taking no chances with the gruelling travel schedule ahead of them.
"We've got both Will Jordan and Sammy Whitelock with inner-ear issues and Sammy is progressing really well but we've decided to leave them both at home until they're really clear to come over.
"We're probably expecting Sammy to come over and maybe join us straight into London and Will's probably a little bit worse than Sam, so we'll just let you know as soon as we're clear, but we didn't see any value in bringing them over and having to deal with that."
Whitelock is expected to be available for the test against Wales on November 6 while Jordan's status is more unclear.
Fakatava, meanwhile, has been struck a huge blow ahead of next year's World Cup campaign - a development Foster acknowledged as being very tough for the young star.
"Yesterday we found out about Folau with his knee, he was doing his own training on Thursday afternoon and it looks like he's re-ruptured the graft of his ACL, which is really disappointing news.
"We'll see whether it's operable or whether it's a natural sort of fix. We're not too sure but those options will be assessed the next few weeks.
"It's devastating - he's worked hard and you know he was excited about the tour and clearly, particularly this next game, was a big opportunity for him."
Also struggling with a niggling injury is Dane Coles - hence the reason Aumua has been brought into the travelling squad, as cover, while Tuipulotu and McKenzie will cover for Whitelock and Jordan. Weber will be with the team for the start of the tour but may be replaced by TJ Perenara after the Wellington halfback becomes available after playing in the NPC final this evening.
Asafo Aumua comes into the squad as cover for Dane Coles. Photo / Photosport
In fact, Foster says that all four replacements could be drafted back into the All Blacks XV squad as the main team's tour progresses.
Despite the late changes, Foster remains upbeat about the squad he's put together.
"I wouldn't say it's a setback, but it's just a readjustment, let's call it that."
The northern tour begins with a test against Japan in Tokyo on October 29.
The All Blacks then play weekly tests in November against Wales, Scotland and the headline England fixture to finish the year at Twickenham.
Foster says this series of tests is an important litmus test for the team ahead of a meagre build-up to the World Cup in France next year.
"We want to get stuck into this northern tour. It's important we finish that in a position with a really clear picture of what we're going to do because next year is pretty thin with five tests before the World Cup.
"We're concerned about showing improvement and our trajectory is upwards, because where we want to be in 12 months is not two, three, four or five it's to be one. That's pretty important to us."
