Experienced loose forward answers All Blacks SOS for Rugby World Cup

Experienced loose forward Ethan Blackadder will head out to France to join the All Blacks squad as an injury replacement for winger Emoni Narawa at the Rugby World Cup.

Blackadder was set to play a provincial game for Tasman against Taranaki in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) on Sunday but was withdrawn from that encounter.

Injury woes

The 28-year-old is the son of former All Blacks captain Todd Blackadder and was initially in the running for selection in New Zealand’s World Cup squad, after some excellent performances for the Crusaders at Super Rugby Pacific level but he has been dogged by injuries of his own over the past 12 months.

He has already made nine Test appearances, since his debut for the All Blacks against Tonga in 2021, but did not play at Test level last year after dislocating a shoulder while in action for the Crusaders.

He also had a calf injury which kept him on the sidelines for most of the Christchurch-based outfit’s triumphant Super Rugby Pacific campaign in 2023 but eventually returned to action during the latter stages of the tournament only for a quad issue to rule him out of selection for New Zealand during the Rugby Championship.

He returned to action for Tasman in the NPC with the hope of being included in the All Blacks’ World Cup squad but another calf injury dashed those hopes.

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster initially had an 18/15 forwards/backs split in his 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup but essentially acknowledged the need for an extra loose forward instead of a like-for-like replacement for Narawa, who injured his back in New Zealand’s Rugby Championship win over Argentina.

“We’ve called Ethan in,” confirmed Foster. “He should be here Monday afternoon.

“It’s obviously disappointing with Emoni’s back and with Sam Cane’s back popping out over the last couple of days, we’re just reinforcing the loos forward stocks, so Ethan’s come in.”

Samipeni Finau unlucky to miss out

Foster admitted that it was a close decision between Blackadder and Samipeni Finau, who shone for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Pacific and impressed on his Test debut against Australia in Dunedin last month.

“We erred on the side of covering the 6-7 area, particularly with Sam’s back, and even though we’re confident that’s not long term, having Ethan in gives us little bit of extra protection in that space,” he said.

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