All Blacks v Wallabies
Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 28 September NZT
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport
Crusaders utility back Chay Fihaki has been called into the All Black squad as cover for the injured Jordie Barrett. It was confirmed today that Barrett's knee injury will mean more scans and no training this week, so he will almost certainly play no part in Saturday's second Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington.
Fihaki's inclusion will raise a few eyebrows after the Crusaders' wretched Super Rugby Pacific season, where they plummeted to the bottom of the table after winning seven titles in a row. They already have the most representatives in the squad, under former Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, with Fihaki's inclusion pushing that number to 13.
Chay Fihaki of the Crusaders scores a try in the tackle of Xavier Roe of the Chiefs during the Super Rugby Pacific match, Crusaders Vs Chiefs, at the Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch, Photo: John Davidson / www.photosport.nz
The 23-year-old's call up will come as bit of a surprise, coming at the expense of initial squad members Emoni Narawa and Ruben Love. Narawa was only given 20 minutes of playing time in the Fiji test, while Hurricanes fullback Love had been with the All Blacks since June and had not been named at all.
Then there's one-test All Black Shaun Stevenson, who has been in good NPC form for North Harbour, while the Highlanders' and Taranaki's Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens has made a strong case too.
Meanwhile, the far more predictable addition of Cam Roigard has happened this week too, although the All Black coaching staff will not be rushing him back into the squad until the end of year tour. The halfback seriously injured his knee back in March but has completed a faster-than-expected recovery.
Cam Roigard of the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby Pacific match, Crusaders Vs Hurricanes, at the Apollo Projects Stadium. Photo: Photosport
Will Jordan, who was moved to fullback only hours before the All Blacks' 31-28 win over the Wallabies in Sydney, said that the team was motivated to put on a good performance in Wellington, a venue that the All Blacks haven't won at since 2018.
"We've had a discussion about it this morning and…we're humbled to see the sell out this week. It's good to see a packed out stadium in New Zealand for our last home game," said Jordan.
"We're pretty excited about going out there and hopefully being able to put a performance on the ground in this region deserves."
Assistant coach Jason Holland said the All Blacks are "really aware" of the losing streak at Sky Stadium.
"We've got plans in place to take it as an awesome opportunity to put out a good performance," he said."
"It's a packed out stadium. So, you know, pretty driven to play the footy we want to play and take the opportunity."
The All Blacks and Wallabies name their teams on Thursday.
