After time away from the game due to a hamstring injury, All Blacks loose forward Shannon Frizell is back in the All Blacks camp ahead of the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series against the Wallabies.
Frizell played limited minutes for his Japan League One side, Toshiba Brave Lupus, but has managed to take part in four NPC matches towards the back end of the regular season for Tasman.
The 33-Test All Black managed a full 80-minute performance at number eight for Tasman in their 50-33 win against Waikato in their final regular season match over the weekend.
Despite getting quality game time representing Tasman over the last month, Frizell said he still has some underlying nerves returning to the All Blacks environment.
“I feel like I'm not there yet, but I'm capable of doing the job,” said Frizell.
The 32-year-old’s last Test match in the black jersey was in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final loss against the Springboks.
“I have the feeling in the back of my head that my best rugby is still in front of me and want to give myself another chance.”
All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan showed more confidence in the loose forward being up to speed for the series against the Wallabies.
“He's come in in great shape and got a bit of confidence playing for Tasman. He didn’t play much in Japan, so he needed these games. He’s fully selectable, he's come in fresh, and we know what he's capable of,” said Ryan.
Ryan was hesitant to give confirmation as to whether Frizell might start, but hinted that he will most likely be involved in some capacity across both Bledisloe Cup Tests.
“The match fitness was important; I think he’s got that, and whether or not he’s thrown straight into the mix to start, I'm not sure.
“I think he will add some value in these two games…the quicker he gets in, the more he'll get up to speed.”
This morning the All Blacks confirmed first-five Ruben Love would miss the rest of the year with an ankle ligament injury.
"He was starting to find his timing quite nicely, direct his forwards around the park and take real ownership of our game. We've got a few injuries at the moment, and that's all part of it and that's off the back of a pretty rugged tour."
The All Blacks head into this weekend off the back of three straight defeats to the Springboks, with Ryan emphasising that his coaching staff are well aware of their current form.
"The tour sucked a lot of juice out of everyone, and it was good to come in on Sunday and review that. There's a little bit of discomfort in the room, as there should be when you're reviewing something like that coming off the back of three losses. It was good to put that to bed and move on."
SHARE ME