All Blacks' Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to miss Canada clash - Rugby News
The All Blacks veteran skipper, Richie McCaw, and kicking specialist, Dan Carter, are set to miss their last group match of Rugby World Cup against Canada. McCaw was ruled out of match with an old foot injury whereas Carter sustained a groin injury during
a practice session.
All Blacks coach, Graham Henry, announced a threatening combination on September 30 but his plans were sent astray the next day. Now, Andrew h**e will lead the All Blacks for the first time in his career in the absence of the captain and his vice against
Canada on October 2 in Wellington.
Carter was supposed to wear the skipper armband after Richie McCaw was declared unfit earlier. However, he was caught up in his own fitness issues shortly after his skipper and paved the way for h**e to lead the Kiwi squad. McCaw will be back in the side
for their quarter-final clash but Carters’ position is still uncertain for the knock out stages.
Richie McCaw declared his fresh injury disappointing and said he was set to play in the last pool match to better prepare for the knock out stages. Furthermore, he said that, “It's a bit frustrating. I was pretty keen to play, it was important for me and
the team. I got through training on Friday fine but I woke up a bit sore. It's been seven months since the operation. Every week, to some degree, it is a bit niggly. It's just one of those things. It probably needs a rest, to be fair.”
McCaw furthered his conversation and said that, “I wanted to get ready for next week - that is why this decision has been made. We've got knock-out games coming up and I didn't want to be niggly next week - I wanted to be ready to go.”
All Blacks will now enter the field with the following players and positions:
New Zealand (revised): 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Colin Slade (c), 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Victor Vito, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen
Franks, 2 Andrew h**e, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brad Thorn, 19 Anthony Boric, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Isaia Toeava.
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