All Blacks head coach Ian Foster appears cautiously optimistic on prop Tyrel Lomax’s injured knee following his side’s 73-0 victory over Uruguay, confirming the issue as a medial ligament strain which nevertheless could put him in doubt for next Sunday’s quarter-final.
Lomax, right knee already heavily strapped due to the nasty gash he received in the World Cup warm-up match against the Boks, left the OL Stadium pitch in Lyon after only nine minutes this morning, and there will be fears that the All Blacks’ premier tighthead will now be sidelined ahead of a high-octane knockout match.
Fellow tighthead Fletcher Newell would have raised those anxiety levels further when he left the pitch with six minutes remaining with his own knee issue.
"Fletcher was largely precautionary on his knee,” Foster said. “Tyrel is a little bit more serious. It doesn't look too bad, it looks like a medial. He has a bucket load of ice on it right now and we'll look at that over the next 48 hours."
Foster’s diagnosis will send supporters and journalists alike to the internet in search of “mild medial ligament injury strain recovery”. If Foster is correct, Lomax could face at least one week on the sidelines (the internet suggests one to three weeks), although a generous nine-day turnaround to the quarter-final in Paris could give him a little extra leeway.
Loosehead Ethan de Groot will be available for that match against either Ireland, South Africa or Scotland after serving his ban for a high tackle against Namibia, but the coaches will have decisions to make about whether to call up another prop from New Zealand as cover.
Loosehead Joe Moody, due to play for Canterbury against Auckland in Christchurch tonight, is a possible replacement option.
Due to tournament rules, Lomax will not be allowed to play any further part in the tournament if an injury replacement joins the squad. There is a possibility that a replacement could travel and stay and train separately to the squad if required, however.
There will rightly be questions asked about the All Blacks’ performance in the first quarter, when they struggled for penetration against a dogged Uruguay defence not helped by their own wayward decision making.
They eventually scored 11 tries, with Leicester Fainga’anuku scoring a second-half hat-trick, but Foster’s men were too individual and too loose after a massive nine changes to the team which demolished Italy last weekend.
"I believe we have grown our game to a point where we go into the quarter-finals really well prepared,” Foster said, looking ahead to next Sunday. “Whatever happens, whoever we play, it's going to be a massive game but that is what quarter-finals should be like. So we are ready."
The All Blacks’ quarter-final opponent won’t be known until Ireland play Scotland at 8am on Sunday NZT but it’s highly likely to be Ireland, a team ranked No.1 in the world who possess a fearsome set piece and all-round game. The France v Italy match at the same time tomorrow morning will also have a bearing on next weekend’s match-ups.
Asked who he would prefer to face, Foster replied: "I think you know my answer to that, no.
“I don't want to put myself under any stress in the next three days. What will be, will be, and people will theorise what they do. We will go away and have a nice glass of wine in our hotel tonight and celebrate being there. Looking forward to recovery tomorrow. Clearly we have a plan for whoever it may be. At this stage we are excited about us being there, it is our first goal achieved and let's get into the next one."
Asked if he was confident the All Blacks could finish on top of the pool courtesy of an Italy victory over France, who beat New Zealand in the opening match, Foster said: "No, I think we will make the assumption we will finish second.”
Inaccurate start and front row injuries aside, there will be plenty for Foster and company to be pleased about on the occasion of Sam Whitelock's 150th Test this morning, most notably the performance by fullback Damian McKenzie, awarded official man of the match honours.
McKenzie’s audacious in-pass for Will Jordan’s first try while he tip-toed down the sideline has already lit up social media around the world and he was forever threatening on attack.
"He is going pretty good,” Foster said. “We were delighted with him last week and I thought this week he played well.
“It became a lot of turnover ball and turnover defence and quite frankly Damian is good with that sort of stuff. I thought he played really well and when he went to 10 [from full-back] he continued that. He is a player who continues to be important to us. He is really putting his hand up."
"There are different pathways to the quarters, some teams have a hard game beforehand,” Foster said after watching his side blow past Namibia, Italy and now Uruguay.
“For us, that first 20 minutes was pretty tough and we showed a different sort of patience. It is what it is and at the end of the pool play, we are satisfied."
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