“We are all gutted for George, to be ruled out of the tour so early,” All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said. “He’s had a frustrating past few months with injury so it’s a real blow for him to have injured his calf again. We look forward to seeing him return via the NPC and put himself in a position to push for All Blacks selection later in the year.”
Canterbury and Chiefs hooker Brodie McAlister debuted for the All Blacks last year, making two appearances off the bench against France and South Africa, but under Dave Rennie’s new regime, test rookie Slater has usurped him in the pecking order.
Slater is well known to new All Blacks forwards coach Neil Barnes.
With Taylor, the All Blacks tour captain before Ardie Savea joins the squad ahead of the first test against the Springboks, not expected to feature in the opening match, Slater could be thrust into a black jersey in the first three tour games.
Regardless of when Slater features, joining the All Blacks for this tour is a once-in-a-lifetime call.