Scott Robertson looks to be dealing with an injury crisis at scrum-half ahead of the All Blacks’ clash with the Springboks at Eden Park next weekend.
New Zealand hosts the world champions at Eden Park in round three of the Rugby Championship, with South Africa visiting the venue for the first time since 2013.
The All Blacks are unbeaten in their last 50 Tests at the Auckland-based ground, a record that stretches back to 1994 and includes four wins and a draw against the Boks.
Scrum-half crisis
However, that record is under threat with the Springboks in town and the growing Kiwi injury list, particularly at scrum-half.
First-choice number nine Cameron Roigard missed the opening two rounds of the Rugby Championship after a stress fracture in his right foot, which he sustained after the July series against France. His setback was accompanied by an ankle injury to Crusaders star Noah Hotham.
This led to a recall for Finlay Christie ahead of the two Tests in Argentina, with the Blues number nine coming off the bench in both fixtures, doing so in the first half of the defeat to Los Pumas in Buenos Aires.
Christie replaced Cortez Ratima, who sustained what looked to have been a sternum injury and seemed rather uncomfortable when he made his way off the park.
Initially, the All Blacks stated that Roigard would only miss the first two matches of the Rugby Championship, but a late change to the Wellington team to face Auckland in the National Provincial Championship has now fuelled speculation that he won’t be available to tackle the Springboks.
Uncapped halfback Kyle Preston, who scored a hat-trick on his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders earlier this year, was also a late scratch from the Wellington starting lineup.
The 25-year-old toured with Robertson’s squad to Argentina but failed to make his Test debut; however, he could do so against the Springboks in Auckland.
An All Blacks advisory from Wellington confirmed that Preston was being rested as “a precautionary measure” as it’s unclear when Ratima will be fit to play again.
The injury setbacks could result in Christie starting for the All Blacks against the Boks next weekend, with Preston in line for a possible Test debut from the bench.
Aaron Smith SOS?
With the current crisis, former All Blacks hooker James Parsons suggested that perhaps Robertson could send a SOS to Aaron Smith, who retired from international rugby, but did mention further options in New Zealand, including his fellow rugby pod show host Bryn Hall.
While the All Blacks don’t pick players based abroad, an exception was made a few years back for Matt Todd, who was parachuted into the squad when he was playing in Japan to ease a similar injury crisis.
“We obviously haven’t heard how bad Cortez’s injury is, so there’s still a lot up in the air,” he said on the Aotearoa Rugby Podcast.
“I mean, Bryn is still pretty fit, he’s in training. We saw Nuggy (Smith) in the All Blacks environment throughout the French series – I am tongue-in-cheek there, but there is the Matt Todd theory where Steve [Hansen] ushered him in when there were a number of injuries.
“Xavier Roe was big in the [Ranfurly] Shield challenge. There is Mitchell Drummond, who has previously represented the All Blacks, but it would be big to select a debutant against the Springboks.”
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