All blacks double injured before Ireland Test

New Zealand senior players Beauden Barrett And Cody Taylor were managed outside test next week against Ireland due to head injuries received during the victory over England.

Failed HIA assessments

Trainer Scott Robertson reported New Zealand medical staff believe halfback Barrett and hooker Taylor will undergo a mandatory 12-day lay-off period after failing head injury assessments and leaving the field during a busy Saturday. 24-22 English defeat at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

Both 33-year-olds will miss Friday’s Test against World. No. 1 in the ranking Ireland are in Dublin but Robertson said they will be in contention for next week’s match against France in Paris, confirming they will be allowed to train in the coming week.

Taylor was forced off in the sixth minute at Twickenham and was substituted. Asafo Aumua playing the rest of the match.

Barrett left in the second half after an impressive performance, including two conversions and a brilliant assist for defender Will Jordan.

Robertson admitted both players, who made 226 Test appearances between them, will be “missed” in Dublin.

It will be the first time the teams have met since the All Blacks beat Ireland in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup in Paris a year ago.

“Cody is a world-class hooker, one of the top two or three in the world and is in great form,” Robertson told New Zealand media during a Zoom call on Sunday.

“We thought Boden was playing pretty well until the explosion happened.

“Obviously they will be missed, but they will be there, sharing their wisdom and preparing the rest of the players.”

Match winning conversion

Damian Mackenzie is likely to be reinstated as a midfielder after coming off the bench to score the winning conversion at Twickenham.

Impetuous playmaker McKenzie started the first eight Tests of Robertson’s tenure but was dropped to the bench for the final New Zealand Rugby Championship test against Australia in Wellington last month, with the more composed Barrett preferred.

Robertson said he had no problem returning Mackenzie’s “keys” and said Aumua had “come of age” with his Twickenham performance.

“He’s pretty laid back, D-Mac (McKenzie), he’ll take on any role. He had the keys for a while and now they are back in his hands,” Robertson said.

“Asafo, it was a great moment for him. He worked really hard to make sure that when the opportunity came his way, he took it.”

Robertson will call on versatile defenders Ruben Love And Harry Plummer into the New Zealand squad as injury cover, along with a yet-to-be-named hooker.

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