All Blacks count the cost of record defeat to Springboks as another player set to be sidelined
All Blacks scrum-half Noah Hotham and head coach Scott Robertson (inset).
New Zealand’s record defeat to their arch rivals South Africa in Wellington on Saturday was further compounded by a double injury setback to returning scrum-half Noah Hotham.
The Springboks continued with their impressive form against the All Blacks at Sky Stadium as they got their Rugby Championship campaign back on track courtesy of 43-10 bonus-point victory against their old foes.
All Blacks’ heaviest ever defeat
Saturday’s loss was the All Blacks‘ heaviest ever defeat and it was largely due to a second half capitulation as they held a 10-7 lead at half-time.
Hotham injured his ankle and took a knock to the head while trying to tackle behemoth Springboks second-row Lood de Jager during the early stages of the eagerly anticipated encounter.
The 22-year-old had missed the first three rounds of the Rugby Championship due to an injury on his other ankle sustained during the third Test against France in July.
However, with the All Blacks’ frontline number nines Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima currently on the sidelines with injuries, head coach Scott Robertson rushed him back for the Wellington clash.
Hotham went for a HIA after the 10th-minute challenge on De Jager, which he failed, and the Boks lock was also forced off the field with his replacement RG Snyman crossing for one of the visitors’ six tries.
Robertson revealed that Hotham was the All Blacks’ big casualty from their record defeat and the Crusaders star’s participation in this year’s Rugby Championship appears to be over with two rounds of matches – against the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland and Optus Stadium in Perth – left to play.
The All Blacks boss confirmed that Hotham would be sent for scans to determine the severity of the injury as they are unsure whether it was sprained or fractured.
“The scan will tell but yeah, it’s sore,” Robertson said.
Optimistic about Roigard and Ratima’s availability
However, Robertson is optimistic that both Roigard and Ratima could be available for selection for New Zealand’s next encounter, against the Wallabies at Eden Park on September 27.
If both those players are ruled fit it would be a welcome boost for the men in black and offset Hotham’s absence.
Roigard is recovering from a stress fracture in his right foot which he sustained during the All Blacks’ series with France in New Zealand, while Ratima injured his ribs in their 29-23 loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires in Round Two of the Rugby Championship.
Next weekend there is a bye in the Rugby Championship which will give Roigard and Ratima an extra seven days to recover.
“It would be a massive boost,” Robertson added. “It would be good to get a couple coming back the other way.”
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