All Blacks powerhouse a late withdrawal for Hurricanes’ clash with the Brumbies

The Hurricanes have suffered a setback on the eve of their Super Rugby Pacific play-off with the Brumbies after star hooker Asafo Aumua was forced to withdraw due to injury.

The match is set to take place in Canberra on Saturday but Aumua, who was named in the Hurricanes’ starting line-up, is battling a hamstring injury which could rule him out for the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

Sustained the injury at training

On Tuesday, Aumua injured his hamstring at an open training session in front of the media and he was in visible discomfort when he left the field on a cart.

Although he was still named to start in the encounter against the Brumbies, Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw was not optimistic about the All Black’s chances of playing.

Aumua’s withdrawal and the nature of his injury was announced just a few hours before the Hurricanes squad boarded a flight from Wellington airport to Canberra.

The 28-year-old’s spot in the Hurricanes’ starting line-up has been taken by Jacob Devery, who scored one of the Hurricanes’ 10 tries in their 64-12 demolition of Moana Pasifika in Wellington last weekend.

Devery’s elevation to the run-on side means Raymond Tuputupu comes back into the matchday squad as the back-up hooker.

Aumua missed the clash with Moana due to concussion but was set to return to action before his latest injury struck.

All Blacks star an injury concern for Hurricanes ahead of Super Rugby Pacific play-offs

He has had several injury setbacks over the past year. Earlier this season, Aumua missed four of the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby Pacific matches after sustaining a foot injury and he also spent several weeks on the sideline due to an MCL tear in his left knee during the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

The full extent of Aumua’s hamstring injury won’t be known until the Hurricanes return to Wellington following their clash with the Brumbies and he has been assessed further.

‘Highly unlikely’ Aumua will be fit for the semi-finals

However, Laidlaw admitted it was “highly unlikely” he would be available for selection if the Hurricanes advanced to the semi-finals.

That means he could also be doubtful for the All Blacks‘ three-Test series against France in New Zealand next month. All Blacks boss Scott Robertson will announce his squad for that series on June 23, two days after the Super Rugby Pacific final.

An explosive ball carrier and solid defender, Amua made his All Blacks debut against Australia in 2020 but spent three years in the international wilderness.

However, after impressing for the Hurricanes during their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, he was a regular in All Blacks squads and featured in all of their 14 Tests last year

“Sometimes you get more of a neural hamstring [injury] and you can bounce back from that but he wasn’t close in the end so last night and this morning we just had to make that change,” Laidlaw told Stuff.

“Jacob played last week and trained yesterday so we’ve prepared well enough with that. It’s obviously disappointing to lose a player in training but he didn’t play last week.”

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