Eight All Blacks will give the NPC Championship a boost of star power as they become available to return to their provincial sides for tournament’s opening round this week.
Eden Park will host the season opener between Auckland and Waikato on Thursday, with Anton Lienert-Brown potentially.
Wellington and Canterbury will have Ruben Love and Brodie McAlister respectively at their disposal when they meet in Porirua on Saturday, with Christian Lio-Willie a chance for Otago when they take on Southland in Invercargill on the same day.
Sunday’s two matches will feature Emoni Narawa and Pasilio Tosi for Bay of Plenty, Timoci Tavatavanawai for Tasman, and Dalton Papali’i for Counties Manukau.
While the return of these players is a welcome sight for provincial fans, the All Blacks’ sick bay is filling up ahead of the Rugby Championship series against Argentina.
Halfback Noah Hotham is the latest casualty, requiring surgery for a high ankle sprain that will sideline him for up to eight weeks.
He joined a list of players already in recovery. Caleb Clarke also suffered a high ankle sprain that did not require surgery and would be available within six weeks.
Tyrel Lomax was recovering from surgery after a hand fracture, while Luke Jacobson was nursing a thigh injury.
Scott Barrett, Wallace Sititi, and Tamaiti Williams were all progressing well after various setbacks, with each targeting a return within three weeks.
Beauden Barrett was healing well from a subtle hand re-fracture and should be available in a fortnight, while Tupou Vaa’i remained under concussion protocols with a similar timeline.