All Blacks concerned about injuries to Kieran Read and Adam Thompson – Rugby News
The Wallabies handed over a 25 – 20 defeat on Saturday, August 27, to deny the All Blacks the 2011 Tri Nations title. Besides losing the psychological advantage, Saturday’s defeat has also left the All Blacks bruised as they are left waiting on the results of the injuries to their forwards first choice duo of Kieran Read and Adam Thomson and their availability for the upcoming global showpiece tournament.
The pair of Read and Thomson sustained ankle and elbow injuries respectively during their Saturday, August 27, encounter against the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Read and Thomson are an important part of the All Blacks 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) preparations and are the member of their final 30-man squad for their title campaign, which is starting next month.
The back row forwards player, Read, left the field in the 12th minute of the game and Victor Vito replaced him. Meanwhile, flanker Adam Thomson left the field during the 37th minute of the game as Ali Williams replaced him from the bench.
All Blacks head coach, Graham Henry, has expressed his concern about the injuries to his first choice back row forwards pair. Although he has expressed his confidence that Read may attai full fitness before the start of their RWC campaign next month.
Commenting on Read, Henry said, “We're pretty positive really about Kieran. The doctor thinks he will be able to play in the World Cup. It may be a slow start for him but really, I am only speculating. I'm hopeful.”
However, he was pessimistic about the recovery of Thomson from his elbow injury. He said, “It doesn't look good, we'll just have to wait and see.”
The player’s partner in the back row forwards’ pack and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has expressed his disappointment at the injury to Read. He added that the pair of Read and Jerome Kaino was an important part of their strategy during the upcoming 2011 RWC campaign.
McCaw said, “Kieran's a big loss. He's a h**l of a good player when he's fit and running around.”
Henry has hinted that Liam Messam might be included in the All Blacks 2011 RWC squad. However, the matter still needs to be discussed with the others and they will wait for the results of the detailed diagnostics.
The two players will undergo a series of tests to establish the nature of the injury and the time required for recovery. The tests will be performed on the players in New Zealand.
The Wallabies will kick-start their 2011 RWC campaign against Tonga on September 9 at Auckland.
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