All Blacks left with ‘blood in the shed’ after France triumph as Scott Barrett a major injury concern
All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan (inset) and captain Scott Barrett.
The All Blacks are licking their wounds after Saturday’s narrow triumph over France in the first Test in Dunedin with Sevu Reece ruled out of the second Test in Wellington and there are major doubts over captain Scott Barrett’s availability.
Reece was forced off the field with a head injury sustained in the first minute of his side’s 31-27 victory, following a collision and he subsequently failed his HIA.
The 28-year-old got his head in the wrong place as he tried to tackle Les Bleus fly-half Joris Segonds and was immediately replaced by Damian McKenzie, who took over at full-back with Will Jordan moving to the right wing.
Caleb Clarke is expected to take Reece’s spot on the wing in the All Blacks‘ second Test against France which takes place at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Barrett left the pitch with an Achilles injury in the 58th minute with Samipeni Finau coming on to replace him. The 31-year-old skipper was limping on Sunday as the All Blacks boarded a plane for their flight to Wellington.
Barrett doubtful for the second Test
If Barrett is ruled out of the second Test with Les Bleus, Patrick Tuipulotu should come into the starting line-up to pack down in the second-row alongside Fabian Holland, who impressed on debut in Dunedin with a solid all-round performance during an 80-minute stint on the field.
That means Ardie Savea, who took over the captaincy in Dunedin on Saturday, should lead the team in Wellington.
France head coach Fabien Galthie left numerous first choice players at home for the three-Test series against the All Blacksand Les Bleus took to the field with five debutants in Dunedin and a further three uncapped players on their replacements bench.
Although the visitors had an inexperienced matchday squad, they gave a good account of themselves and All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan admitted they had to dig deep to secure the result.
“There is an old saying, ‘sometimes you have got to win in the mud,” he said on Sunday. “Even though there was no mud out there, we just found a way. There was grit.
‘They were sore this morning’
“There was a lot of blood in the shed. There were some guys with cut eyes, and they were sore this morning.
“So it will set us up.”
Despite receiving a tough challenge from Les Bleus, Ryan was happy that the All Blacks remained calm under pressure and hailed their decision-making in the game’s closing stages.
He singled out stand-in captain Savea’s decision to call for a scrum late in the game as a sign that the All Blacks were still willing to be bold at that stage of the match.
“I think we showed some composure at the right time, and the boys had a conversation around ‘are we going to scrum for that penalty at the end or play?’ and Ardie said ‘no, let’s go after one’,” said Ryan.
“So that’s being assertive with decision-making.”
