Ali Williams and Sebastien Chabal collide. Photo / Mark Mitchell
New Zealand's depleted lock stocks were further decimated last night as two more face an extended spell on the sidelines.
Keith Robinson "tweaked" his calf muscle in the warm-ups just minutes before the match, adding to his catalogue of miserable luck.
Ali Williams, who looked to be returning
to top form, came off second best when his jaw met Sebastien Chabal's head as he was trying to tackle the Frenchman.
He was taken to hospital with a broken jaw and All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen said he faced six to eight weeks on the sidelines, ruling him out of the Tri Nations.
Remembering that Jason Eaton and James Ryan were ruled out for the season with knee injuries sustained in the Super 14, the lock stocks should be marked 'dangerously low'.
"It's a huge concern," said coach Graham Henry. "Keith Robinson tweaked a calf muscle. Those injuries take a long time to come right."
Robinson has had miserable luck at this venue. In 2004 he had to pull out of a test after injuring a calf during training.
While Robinson's fragile body faces an uncertain rehabilitation period, at least there is more certainty regarding Williams. Broken jaws tend to take up to two months to mend and he is unlikely to face further ill effects. That is too late for the Tri Nations but plenty of time until the All Blacks leave for France.
Just who will come into the squad remains to be seen. After a strong Super 14 campaign Greg Rawlinson is likely to be first cab off the rank. Junior All Blacks Ross Filipo and Tom Donnelly will be keen to press their cases.
"It's too early to talk about," Henry said. "We'll have a meeting with the selectors and make our decision then. The Junior All Blacks are the area we'll go to but they are in Tonga."
If there is a positive, it's that Henry, Hansen and co have had a good look at a possible "what-if?" scenario.
"The pack dealt with the Keith Robinson injury really well," Hansen said. "It's a big credit to Troy Flavell who spent the week thinking he wasn't going to play."
Chris Jack also had his best game for some time.
Given the disruption, Hansen was particularly pleased with the All Blacks at set-piece time.
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