The All Blacks are likely to cope just fine without Dan Carter, but the prognosis isn't as cheery for Taranaki, who as a result have lost Beauden Barrett on the eve of their Ranfurly Shield defence against Hawkes Bay.
Carter's calf strain has resulted in Barrett, the country's third-ranked first-five, being whisked from Taranaki's clutches and onto the All Blacks' reserves bench for Saturday's test against Argentina in Wellington. Barrett, a 21-year-old who has trained with the All Blacks all week, will back up starting No10 Aaron Cruden.
While Carter's injury has set in motion a chain of events which has left Taranaki supporters feeling short-changed, the Amber and Blacks are putting on a brave face, with coaches Colin Cooper and Leo Crowley suspecting something was up when told from on high that their best player wouldn't be back until later in the week at the earliest.
"What normally happens is that he [Barrett] comes home on a Tuesday [from the All Blacks] and this week we got told he wouldn't be home before Thursday night so we knew he might be getting pretty close [to making the team]," Crowley said.
The fact that first-five James Marshall, a new signing from Tasman, had trained in the role all week meant disruption would be minimal, he said.
