Will Jordan may have played his final Test for the All Blacks this year.
The wing limped from the field early in the second half against Scotland on Sunday with a hamstring issue assistant coach Neil Barnes has since confirmed as a minor tear.
While there’s hope he may still feature against England at Twickenham in a fortnight's time or – should the All Blacks qualify - the Nations Championship final the week following, hamstring problems are notoriously difficult to manage, especially with a speedster of Jordan’s ilk.
With plenty of opportunity to rest over the summer and a World Cup year looming, best practice would suggest they’d take no risks and put the All Blacks’ all-time leading try-scorer on ice.
"At this stage, it’s not conclusive where he’s at," Barnes said on Wednesday.
"It's a minor tear, but it depends how quickly it starts to heal this week. We’ll see how that progresses as the week comes along."
Jordan had already been deemed unavailable for Sunday’s clash with Wales, a game he likely would have been rested for in any case.
Rennie and his fellow selectors are expected to take the opportunity to test some of the players closer to the fringes in the squad against a Welsh side who have won just two of their seven Tests in 2026.
The candidates to replace Jordan on the right wing would be Fehi Fineanganofo, Rieko Ioane, and Chay Fihaki, with the former shaping as the leading contender.
After his breakout Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Hurricanes, Fineanganofo has played a solitary Test for the All Blacks since his call-up and is yet to receive a chance as part of the starting XV.
Injury ruled him out of contention for the Bledisloe Cup series, and there’s surely considerable appetite to see how his game translates to the European stage.
Leicester Fainga'anuku is another possibility, although the increased chatter around his abilities as a hybrid suggest Rennie and co would prefer to test drive him in that capacity from the bench first.
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“There’s a lot of positions in this team where it’s really close, and you know we can make quite a few changes and still put a damn good side out,” Barnes added.
“There's a lot of trust in the people we've selected in this. A couple of people will get opportunities, and they've deserved them.
“If they perform, it raises the bar in that position, and then the other person to get back in has got to raise his game.”
The All Blacks haven’t lost to Wales since 1953 and have hit the 50-point mark in their past three visits to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
The All Blacks’ game day squad to face Wales will be named overnight on Friday (3am NZT).
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