All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen has admitted he and his fellow selectors have gambled on including injured lock, Brodie Retallick in the World Cup squad.
Retallick dislocated his left shoulder in the draw against the Springboks in Wellington late last month and Hansen and company don't expect the 28‑year‑old to be available until the team's quarter‑final on October 19th.
The first of the All Blacks' four pool games is against South Africa in Yokohama on September 21st, a match likely to determine whether Hansen's men face Ireland or Scotland in their first sudden‑death match.
To mitigate against Retallick's expected absence – he is also likely to miss the pool games against Namibia, Canada and Italy – the All Blacks have named four locks in the squad, as expected.
The others are Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu and while Whitelock and Barrett were incumbents who could virtually name themselves in the squad, Tuipulotu cemented his performance with a standout effort against the Wallabies at Eden Park recently.
The All Blacks play the Springboks in their first Rugby World Cup match at 9.45pm Saturday 21st September in Japan.
Source : Radio Sport
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