Analysis: Tuipulotu's knee injury will force Scott Robertson to dig ever deeper into his dwindling lock stocks for England tour, writes Patrick McKendry.
On the day it was announced that Patrick Tuipulotu will be sidelined for up to seven weeks with a knee injury, Sam Whitelock proved there was still life in his ageing legs by scoring a try for French club Pau with what was probably his final touch of the ball in professional rugby.
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson, who is preparing to announce his squad for what will be a tough two-Test series against England next month, could be forgiven for wincing at the sequence of events because Tuipulotu's injury leaves Scott Barrett as his only experienced Test lock.
And one, it should be noted, who will have had limited rugby before the first Test in Dunedin on July 6 due to the Crusaders' failure to qualify for the Super Rugby Pacific finals plus a back injury that ruled him out of the defending champions' past four matches.
Barrett last played on May 4 — a defeat to the Reds in Christchurch — but only for a handful of minutes before leaving the field again due to his back issue.
It's not difficult to see why Robertson, preparing for his first series after taking over from Ian Foster, was so keen on getting the 35-year-old Whitelock back for one last hurrah.
After the post-World Cup departures of Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, Robertson was said to be concerned about the lack of depth and experience in the All Blacks' engine room and that worry will have deepened after the 31-year-old Tuipulotu, the Blues captain with 43 Test caps, suffered his injury in his team's recent quarter-final win over the Drua.
Tuipulotu's injury, which came after he missed the start of the Super Rugby season with a broken jaw, could hardly have been timed worse for himself, the Blues, who play the Brumbies in a semifinal at Eden Park on Friday, and the All Blacks.
The powerful lock was thriving under Vern Cotter's leadership at the Blues and after being in and out of the All Blacks between 2014 and 2022, could have expected an extended run in the team this year. He will be targeting a return for the first Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Wellington on August 10.
Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i, a 24-year-old who played in last year's World Cup and has 25 Test caps, looms as the most obvious second-row partner for Barrett, with Isaia Walker-Leawere, a Māori All Black, a good possibility to make the squad after impressing in a vastly improved Hurricanes scrum this season.
Robertson will name 18 forwards and 14 backs in his squad of 32 on June 24 and is likely to select at least four locks.
Tuipulotu's injury may open the door for Crusader Quinten Strange, a former New Zealand under-20s and All Blacks XV player. Strange, a mobile lock and good lineout operator, will be well known by Robertson and his forwards coach Jason Ryan at the Crusaders.
Strange's franchise teammate Jamie Hannah, a 21-year-old in his second year of Super Rugby, appears one for the future after impressing with his game awareness this season.
Another for whom the England series (and Test against Fiji in San Diego on July 20) may come too soon is Chiefs second rower Josh Lord, a 23-year-old who played four Tests between 2021 and last year but who has been in a near constant state of injury since.
Lord's two ankle injuries this year were compounded by a knee problem.
In a social media post last month, Lord wrote: "Haven't retired, haven't gone pro in golf, just been on the mend … frustrating Super season with a few ankle injuries and knee problem that required surgery last week. Looking forward to the fellas kicking into the business end. Back soon."
A day after Tuipulotu's injury was announced and Whitelock crossed the try-line, England coach Steve Borthwick named a 36-man squad high on size and potential physicality.
It all means that the importance of Barrett, a 30-year-old with 69 caps and one of the best locks in the world, to Robertson's squad next month cannot be stressed enough.
And that's even without the potential added pressure of being skipper.
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