Brodie Retallick of the All Blacks suffers a dislocated shoulder. Photo / Getty
Brodie Retallick of the All Blacks suffers a dislocated shoulder. Photo / Getty
All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick has suffered a dislocated shoulder and the coaches will wait on a diagnosis that could include the added complication of a fracture.
Retallick was taken to hospital after hurting his shoulder in the 60th minute during the dramatic 16-all draw against the Springboks at Westpac Stadium following what appeared to be an illegal ruck cleanout by a Springboks player but which wasn't ruled as such by referee Nic Berry.
If the injury is merely a dislocation, Retallick may still be a chance for the World Cup which starts for his side on September 21 with another match against the Boks, who snuck home to share the spoils. A fracture as well would surely rule him out for the rest of the year.
"He's dislocated his shoulder," coach Steve Hansen confirmed. "Whether he's fractured it as well, we don't know. We just have to sit and wait."
It will be a nervous wait because Retallick is a key member of the All Black pack. With Scott Barrett recovering from a broken hand, Sam Whitelock is likely to be joined by Jackson Hemopo in the second row in the first Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies in Perth on August 11.
Retallick's injury added a further sombre note to a disappointing evening for the All Blacks, who struggled initially against the Boks and took a slim halftime lead thanks to Jack Goodhue's try and who appeared in control until Herschel Jantjies' converted try in the final seconds.
The draw comes after last year's upset victory by the Boks, who will be buoyed significantly by this result ahead of the rematch in Yokohama.
Kieran Read and Steve Hansen look on after the final whistle. Photo / Getty
But rather than being too downbeat, Hansen was relatively happy by the performance of his side, albeit not with the numerous handling errors. The Richie Mo'unga-Beauden Barrett selection finished as a success after some early uncertainty, Goodhue was excellent, and there were some good contributions by the replacements.
"I didn't find it a tough watch," Hansen said. "It was a test match. Obviously the last couple of seconds were a bit tough to watch but we've done that to plenty of sides before and you've got to take your own medicine and move on.
"We've chosen over the last couple of weeks to name two different sides. We haven't had much preparation time. We knew due to some of the stuff we were introducing we would be a little off. But there were enough signs there to suggest if we keep working away and get our timing better and get our execution better we will be able to hurt some teams.
"We're not going to panic. We're going to take a deep breath and keep moving.
"We're reasonably happy; not so much with the performance, but with what we're seeing and how far we can go."
Skipper Kieran Read admitted to his side feeling "down" in the sheds. While the All Blacks dodged a bullet in Buenos Aires against the Pumas last weekend, they let it slip this time.
Asked about the Mo'unga/Barrett performance, assistant coach Ian Foster said: "Pretty good. There were some nice signs there. I think in the first 40 it looked like Argentina all over again - players weren't instincitively getting into the shape that we wanted them, or making the right decisions, but after a while I thought there were nice patches in the third and fourth quarter when Richie and Beaudy got a few things organised. It's a work in progress.
"We were lucky at the end there, just like last year," Boks coach Rassie Erasmus said.
"To come away with the draw, we satisfied with that."
