All Blacks sweat over Wallace Sititi after latest setback as Crusaders star joins Scott Robertson’s squad
All Blacks back-row Wallace Sititi and Crusaders counterpart Christian Lio-Willie.
The All Blacks were dealt a major blow ahead of next month’s eagerly anticipated series against France in New Zealand when it was confirmed that star back-row Wallace Sititi has been sidelined due to an ankle injury.
The 22-year-old is one of the brightest prospects in the international arena and was crowned as last year’s World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, while he also won the 2024 All Blacks Player of the Year award.
Christian Lio-Willie brought into All Blacks squad
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has called in Crusaders loose forward Christian Lio-Willie as Sititi’s replacement in his 33-man squad for the Tests against Les Bleus.
A New Zealand Rugby statement revealed that Sititi “was seen by a surgeon last night regarding a high ankle injury and it has been determined that he will require surgery…a further medical assessment will be made in three weeks to determine his likely return to play.”
Lio-Willie was initially named as injury cover for Luke Jacobson in Robertson’s squad for the upcoming Tests against France and his place as the back-up loose forward will now be taken by the Blues’ Dalton Papali’i.
Sititi made his Test debut when he came off the bench as a replacement during New Zealand’s 47-7 victory over Fiji in San Diego last year.
He continued to impress for the All Blacks during their 2024 Rugby Championship campaign as well as their end-of-year tour to Japan and Europe.
Also had a knee injury this year
However, despite several outstanding performances the young back-row had a niggling knee injury which bothered him for a large part of 2024 during matches for the All Blacks and the Chiefs but it eventually took its toll.
“I was carrying it throughout the back-end of the Chiefs season last year, one of those ones that’ll come up in the game, feel sore the next day, and then be right by the next game, it sort of just recurred like that,” he told Stuff earlier this year.
“But in that last game against Italy in Turin, I hyper-extended my knee and damaged my meniscus.”
That meant that the Chiefs were without his services for most of the 2025 season but he eventually returned to action when he came off the bench for a brief cameo against the Western Force in a Round 11 clash in Hamilton.
He continued to impress during the rest of the Chiefs’ campaign and started at number eight in their 16-12 defeat to the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific final in Christchurch on Saturday.
The All Blacks’ series against France gets underway at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on July 5, before the second Test is at Sky Stadium in Wellington seven days later and the last encounter will take place at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on July 19.
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