The sense that this will be an enormously challenging Northern tour for an All Blacks’ team still struggling to find its rhythm has been exacerbated by the injury-forced departures from Tokyo of Sam Cane and Dane Coles and an impending red card ban for Brodie Retallick.
Loose forward and captain Cane has a fractured cheekbone – broken in two places – and will see a specialist on his return to Hamilton to see whether surgery is required to insert a plate.
Hooker Coles has a calf injury – suffered in the warm-up to the All Blacks’ unconvincing 38-31 victory over Japan – and the chances of the 35-year-old having a full and meaningful involvement at next year’s World Cup must be getting slimmer for a player with a long history of Achilles and calf problems.
And Retallick faces a disciplinary hearing for his ruck cleanout on Kazuki Himeno after 66 minutes at Tokyo's National Stadium which left the All Blacks having to defend a 35-31 lead with only 14 men until Richie Mo’unga’s late penalty.
Retallick’s case will be heard tomorrow, with head coach Ian Foster saying the All Blacks would defend it.
Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli was in no doubt about the seriousness of the incident, telling Retallick: “You have come from a distance with a tucked shoulder and you have made a contact with the player’s neck. That’s a high degree of danger with no mitigation. That’s a red card.”
But, like it or not, such contacts regularly happen in Tests and Himeno showed no ill effects. The reality is, however, that Retallick is facing a two-match ban at least.
A three-match suspension would rule him out of the Tests against Wales, Scotland and England – nations which may like their chances of famous victories against an All Blacks team which this year has lost a home series against Ireland, lost to Argentina in Christchurch, should have lost to the Wallabies in Melbourne but for Jordie Barrett’s late try following referee Mathieu Raynal’s infamous intervention, and have now struggled to beat a Tier Two nation.
In what was another case of an opposition team showing greater innovation than the All Blacks, Japan, coached by Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown, held their own in the set piece, defended with energy and commitment, and attacked with intelligence.
The All Blacks, who led 21-3 after 33 minutes, didn’t appear to have a well-thought out kicking strategy, and if they did, it wasn’t well executed. There were new combinations in the backline, with second-five Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and fullback Stephen Perofeta making their first Test starts, but again Foster's men struggled to combat an opposition's defensive line speed despite it being highly predictable.
For Cane, the disappointment of a patchy All Blacks’ performance and yet another injury after his broken neck in 2018 was eased slightly by the way his side defended in the final 15 minutes.
He said he suffered his injury in a ruck cleanout with 10 minutes to go but that while “I could feel the blood in my mouth”, it didn’t seem that serious.
“The game was obviously in the balance at that point," he said. "It didn’t restrict my ability to play and perform so I was happy to carry on.
“We were down to 14 in that last 15 minutes of the game. There was plenty riding on it. The guys showed good composure, good belief and good character to work hard and defend the way we did. Although it wasn’t an accomplished performance there were areas we were proud of.
“It shows how far Japan have come and it was a good experience for a lot of guys who have been helping the starters to prepare for a long period this year and they got their opportunity and the pressure of Test match rugby.”
Cane added of his latest setback: “It’s a bit of a mental rollercoaster, I suppose – the highs and the lows – and the injuries are certainly some of the lows.”
The All Blacks will arrive in Cardiff needing a new captain, which may be Ardie Savea but is yet to be confirmed by Foster, and without the services of veterans Coles, 31, and Retallick.
Outside back Will Jordan remains in New Zealand due to his ongoing inner ear issue.
In a year in which the All Blacks are creating history for the wrong reasons, Wales, who haven’t beaten the All Blacks since 1953, and Scotland, who have never beaten the All Blacks, may be feeling more confident by the day.
The clash against England at Twickenham will be the first between the two nations since the men in white beat the All Blacks in the 2019 World Cup semifinal.
A difficult tour for the All Blacks has become even more challenging.
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