Captain Cane, hooker Coles ruled out of All Blacks tour

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匿名  发表于 2022-10-31 02:48:46 |阅读模式
    WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The All Blacks suffered more than injured pride in their narrow test win over Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.
    Captain Sam Cane and hooker Dane Coles have been ruled out of the remainder of New Zealand’s northern hemisphere tour. Cane suffered a broken cheekbone and is returning home with Coles, who suffered a calf injury in the warmup before the match.
    New Zealand beat Japan 38-31 in an unimpressive performance which has been widely criticized at home and has led to suggestions the three teams the All Blacks will play in Britain over the next three weeks will be relishing an opportunity.
    The All Blacks meet Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, Scotland at Edinburgh on Nov. 12 and England at Twickenham on Nov. 19. Wales hasn’t beaten New Zealand since 1953 and Scotland never has.
    Those teams may have hope of making history, encouraged by the comments of Japan’s New Zealand-born former captain Michael Leitch who played in Saturday’s test. Leitch said the All Blacks no long have a fear factor for most opponents.
    “In the past, teams have come up against the All Blacks and psychologically you think they are unbeatable,” Leitch said. “But now those cracks are showing.
    “It’s doable and we showed that today. Give us an extra 10 minutes and who knows what would have happened.”
    Japan coach and former All Black Jamie Joseph echoed those comments.
    “Everyone is thinking about the All Blacks and that’s part of their armor really,” Joseph said. “Having played for the All Blacks, one of the things we used to talk about 25 years ago was that everyone was a wee bit scared of us.
    “Perhaps that’s not the case anymore.”
    ___
    More AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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