All Blacks locking woes deepen

What was once considered one of the deepest positions in New Zealand rugby is becoming a major headache for the All Black coaches.

When the All Blacks toured Europe at the end of 2006 they took five locks with them. All five of these players had shown they had what it takes to play on the international stage and all performed well on that tour.

But now four of those five players are out injured and the All Black selectors must scramble to find replacements for the upcoming Tri-Nations and even the Rugby World Cup in September.

Jason Eaton and James Ryan were considered excellent locking prospects, but during this year’s Super 14 both suffered season ending injuries. Ali Williams, who many consider to be New Zealand’s second best lock behind Chris Jack, suffered a broken jaw in the 61-10 victory over France on Saturday. Compounding the injury toll from that game was the calf injury suffered by Keith Robinson during the warm up for Saturday night’s game.

Both Williams and Robinson will miss the entire Tri-Nations campaign against Australia and South Africa, but could return in time for the Rugby World Cup.

In the mean time Junior All Blacks Ross Filipo and Greg Rawlinson have been called into the All Blacks squad as they prepare for one-off test against Canada in Hamilton this weekend.  The string of injuries will also mean that utility forward Reuben Thorne will likely see some game time at lock instead of his preferred blind-side flanker position.

Coach Graham Henry now has some serious concerns around the locking position, although he did state he was pleased with the performance of Troy Flavell against France. One of his main concerns will be the lack of international experience at lock, while Jack has played 59 test matches, the remaining three locks have played a mere 21 tests between them – 19 for Flavell, 2 for Rawlinson and none for Filipo.

Similar Posts:

• All Blacks Locking Woes
• Locks could be the key to victory at the World Cup
• Williams sent home from Blues
• Injuries expose All Blacks lack of depth at key positions
• My All Blacks team to play France

The All Blacks locking woes deepen by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.